The US rejects China's territorial claim over the South China Sea, deeming it as illegal

UNITED STATES (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on Monday denying China’s disputed claim on the South China Sea and accused Beijing of bullying other claimant states.

"The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” the statement reads

The Chinese Embassy in the US responded by describing the statement as “completely unjustified" and accused the US of inciting tensions in the region.

The US has long opposed China’s tactics but only now has called it illegal.

Why should we care?

According to international law, every country has the right to claim up to 12 nautical miles from its coast as its territory and can claim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles for activities like drilling or fishing.

China, however, claims that it has historical rights over the sea based on the nine-dash line, a line drawn on Chinese map that encircles as much as 90% of the contested waters.

Other claimants such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei and Vietnam based their claims on geographical proximity to the ocean areas including the two island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys.

Despite an international tribunal in The Hague back in 2016 ruling out China's claims as having no legal basis, China has been steadily increasing its maritime presence in the region.

Malaysia has submitted a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to increase Malaysia’s continental shelf beyond the standard 200 nautical miles off the northernmost point of Malaysian Borneo.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has also said that China’s claim that the whole of the South China Sea belongs to them is ridiculous.

In May this year, Chinese and Malaysian vessels were locked in a high-stakes standoff for more than one month as the Yang Di Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah warns of increased activities by big powers in the South China Sea that needs to be paid attention to.

More than $3 trillion in trade passes the sea each year making it the world’s most important shipping lanes. It is also reported to hold a significant reserve of undiscovered oil and gas underneath its sea bed.