The facts: China signed the Convention in 1982 and ratified it in 1996. The Tribunal was constituted under Annex VII of that same treaty. Refusing to appear changed nothing — Annex VII, Art. 9 expressly allows proceedings to continue in a party’s absence, and Art. 296 plus Annex VII, Art. 11 make the ruling FINAL and BINDING. No appeal. No expiry date.
“Runs counter to basic facts”? Five arbitrators — among the world’s foremost law-of-the-sea experts — ruled unanimously that the nine-dash line has no legal basis under the Convention. That is the record, unbroken for ten years.
And on “those preaching peace send warships”: Who built military bases on Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation on the Philippine continental shelf? Who rams, water-cannons, and lasers civilian vessels inside a neighbor’s EEZ? That conduct is Illegal, Coercive, Aggressive, and Deceptive (ICAD).
Beijing says the joint statement “changes nothing.” Agreed — the Award never needed changing. It is final. What has changed in ten years is the number of nations willing to say so publicly. That list keeps growing.
The facts are on the record. The law is on our side. Time is not on the side of those who defy both.
