On Wednesday, the United States made its most detailed case yet against Beijing’s “illegal” claims in the South China Sea, rejecting the geographic and historical underpinnings of its sprawling and divisive map.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Oceanic and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs said in a 47-page study that China’s claims that Beijing is in conflict with the Philippines, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have no basis in international law.
“The overall impact of these maritime claims is that China is unlawfully asserting sovereignty or some form of exclusive jurisdiction over much of the South China Sea,” the paper said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“These claims seriously undermine the rule of law at the sea and many of the generally accepted provisions of international law reflected in the convention,” it said, referring to the 1982 UN Treaty on the Law of the Sea, which China ratified but not the UN. state.
The State Department statement that released the study reiterated its call for Beijing to “stop its illegal and coercive activities in the South China Sea.”
The paper is an update of a 2014 study that similarly questioned the so-called “nine-dash line” that underlies much of Beijing’s position.
In 2016, an international court sided with the Philippines in a complaint against China’s claims. Beijing responded by offering new reasons, including saying that China has “historic rights” in the region.
The State Department document said such historical claims had “no legal basis” and China did not provide specific details.
It also questioned the geographic justification of China’s claim, saying Beijing’s more than 100 prominent features in the South China Sea were submerged at high tide and thus “exceeded the legal boundaries of any country’s territorial waters.”
Citing such geographical features, Beijing claims there are four “island groups” that the State Department’s study says do not meet the baseline standards of the UN Convention.
The report comes as the United States increasingly challenges China on the global stage, citing a rising communist power as its main long-term threat.
In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unequivocally supported Southeast Asian countries’ claims in the South China Sea, going beyond the U.S.’s past position of challenging China without considering which countries were right.
The South China Sea holds valuable oil and gas resources and shipping lanes, and Beijing’s neighbors have often expressed concern that their giant neighbors are seeking to expand their sphere of influence.
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