China’s Game of Deception Takes a Blow in South China Sea

Tribunal's ruling discredits China's disinformation, but the conflict is far from over

Chinese dredgers work on the construction of artificial islands on and around Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea on May 2, 2015. The U.S. Navy recently sent a warship to patrol near the Chinese regime’s man-made islands. U.S. Navy

The foundation of the Chinese regime’s legal case and strategy for exploiting the South China Sea rested on a supposed historical ownership—and on July 12, an arbitration court in The Hague declared that this foundation is false.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) quickly shot back. A statement from its Foreign Ministry says it views the tribunal’s decision as “null and void and has no binding force,” and says it “neither accepts nor recognizes it.”