The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government issued its final award on Tuesday, but as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void.
In a press release accompanying the 479-page award, the five-member tribunal offered a summary of its decisions, which sweepingly side with the claims filed by the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III.
China has refused to participate in the proceedings, reiterating that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case, which is in essence related to territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China solemnly declares that the award is null and void and has no binding force. China neither accepts nor recognizes it," the ministry said in a statement shortly after the publication of the award.
It should be the ultimate goal of any international institution to help resolve conflicts, maintain peace and limit armaments. These were also the founding principles of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) when it was established over a hundred years ago.
However, the arbitral tribunal the PCA organized over the South China Sea issue seems to have intensified the disputes between Beijing and Manila, putting regional peace at risk while spurring military buildup. Questions have been raised over the legitimacy of the arbitration.
STALLED TALKS
Before the arbitration was filed, China and the Philippines, along with other countries involved, had engaged in constructive talks over disputes in the South China Sea for years.
Those talks yielded a declaration that regulates the conduct of involved parties in the waterway so as to ensure regional peace. The parties also fostered a "dual track" approach of maintaining peace while holding talks on disputes.
However, it became difficult to hold talks ever since the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III initiated the arbitration in 2013. Dialogues were disrupted after the tribunal claimed jurisdiction two years later.
Since talks stalled, tensions have mounted. U.S. warships and planes have frequented the South China Sea under the pretext of safeguarding "freedom of navigation and overflight."
Meanwhile, Washington and Manila held a slew of joint military drills near the waters of the South China Sea. The scale of their war games kept increasing while the weapons used by their servicemen became increasingly sophisticated.
In April, thousands of U.S., Philippine and Australian troops attended an 11-day exercise in the South China Sea region, which deployed the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, capable of firing waves of rockets and missiles from a long range with great accuracy.
The high-profile U.S. military presence only cast a pall on the otherwise peaceful South China Sea, through which more than 100,000 ships pass annually without incidents.
"LAWFARE"
The U.S. intervention won't end with military muscle-flexing. Observers said that the arbitration is part of the "lawfare" that the United States has waged against China, by manipulating lawsuits and legal systems to tarnish China's claims and rights.
Although the arbitration was initiated by the Aquino III administration in 2013, U.S. support and abetment were crucial to its being carried forward. The 3,000-page documents that the Philippines handed over to the tribunal were compiled with the help of U.S. legal experts who also participated in the process of deliberations.
The U.S. support, analysts said, is also a key factor that encouraged the tribunal to accept and then claim jurisdiction over the flawed case.
In 2010, then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that Washington has national interests in the South China Sea, amid the U.S.strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States and the Philippines issued a joint statement to back the arbitration in 2014. Later that year, U.S. President Barack Obama, during a visit to Manila, voiced his support for the arbitration.
