Why does China threaten to leave the law of the sea convention?

China has told Asian countries that it may withdraw from the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in response to a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration against it in the coming weeks, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on June 21, citing diplomatic sources.

Chinese warships launch missiles during a live-fire exercise in the East Sea. Photo: AP

What China is most concerned about in the arbitration case filed by the Philippines is the legality of the so-called “nine-dash line” that is ambiguous and “licks” almost the entire East Sea. In 2013, the Philippines submitted its case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands.

China thinks the worst outcome would be for the PCA to rule on UNCLOS that China’s “historic rights” claim in the South China Sea has no international legal basis and the court would reject the “nine-dash line,” the sources said.

China told ASEAN diplomats that if that happened, it would not rule out withdrawing from UNCLOS - the convention seen as a constitution for the seas and oceans.

Many experts believe that the court's ruling will be unfavorable to Beijing. Having ratified UNCLOS in 1996, China has now said that it will not accept or respect the upcoming court ruling.

Beijing also criticized the Philippines for “unilaterally” bringing the dispute to court and breaking a previous agreement to try to resolve territorial disputes through bilateral negotiations. China has long said the arbitration court has no jurisdiction over the case.

However, the Philippines' action received support from many countries, including the US and Japan, because they considered this a step to resolve disagreements and ease tensions through international law.

Many countries have also put pressure on China to respect the upcoming court ruling if it wants to become a responsible major power in the international community.

China argues that the US (not a signatory to UNCLOS) has no right to speak about the case; Washington is increasing its presence in the region with its allies partly to contain Beijing's influence in the name of international law.

China's failure to comply with the court's decision would certainly damage its international image, but the PCA has no mechanism to enforce the decision.

China-Indonesia tensions

Tensions between Indonesia and China continue to rise over Indonesia’s firing on a Chinese fishing boat operating illegally in Indonesian waters. Indonesia yesterday condemned China for calling the Natura Islands a “traditional fishing ground” for Chinese fishermen.

“China and Indonesia have overlapping claims to maritime rights and interests” in the area, China’s Foreign Ministry said after the Indonesian Navy fired warning shots at Chinese fishing boats last Friday and detained several crew members. China had previously defended the fishermen’s actions by saying they were operating in “traditional fishing grounds.”

Yesterday, Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti told reporters that China previously asserted that it had no problems with Indonesia, meaning Beijing respected Indonesia's sovereignty and exclusive economic zone.

According to Minister Pudjiastuti, the two countries have no agreement on cooperation in this area, so Chinese fishing vessels are treated like any other vessels fishing illegally in Indonesian sovereign waters.

“We don’t know about it (traditional fishing grounds) and we don’t recognize anyone’s claim that they have their traditional fishing grounds in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, except for the area where we have an agreement with Malaysia on the Strait of Malacca,” Pudjiastuti said.

According to CNA, Kyodo