Hague Tribunal Demands Evidence of China’s Sea Claims
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/evidence-06042014140758.html
A Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) uses a water cannon to attack a Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance boat near the site of a Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea, June 2, 2014.
Hague Tribunal Demands Evidence of Chinas Sea Claims
By Joshua Lipes
2014-06-04
An international tribunal has asked China to submit evidence defending its territorial claims in the South China Sea within six months, but Beijing shrugged off the request Wednesday, saying it does not recognize the case brought by rival claimant the Philippines.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Hague-based inter-governmental body which hears international disputes, issued a statement Tuesday saying it has given China until Dec. 15 to submit its arguments against a complaint by the Philippines, which questioned the legality of Chinas so-called nine-dash line, encompassing virtually the entire South China Sea.
The Philippines had on March 30 filed a 4,000-page memorial with the PCA detailing its case and seeking to clarify territorial rights in the South China Sea, arguing that Beijings claim to most of the South China Sea has no legal basis.
(T)he Arbitral Tribunal fixes 15 December 2014 as the date for China to submit its Counter-Memorial responding to the Philippines Memorial, the PCA statement said.