Experts slam South China Sea ruling

Outcome of 2016 tribunal has fueled conflict, researchers say at seminar

A 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, initiated solely by the Philippines, has failed to resolve regional disputes and instead fueled distrust and conflict over the past nine years, researchers said on Thursday at a Beijing seminar. They argued the ruling has hindered regional dialogue and cooperation.

Li Guoqiang, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of History, stated that the South China Sea was once harmonious, characterized by mutual respect between China and its neighbors, until the 1930s when it was disrupted by what he described as colonial and imperialist "hegemony and greed". Li emphasized that China had fully recovered the South China Sea islands, an outcome of the victory in World War II, in accordance with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation.

"The History and Reality of the South China Sea" seminar was cohosted by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies and the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance. It brought together scholars from various countries, including China, Indonesia, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Singapore and South Korea, to discuss historical and legal perspectives on the matter.