US Disputes China’s Maritime Claim Of South China Sea, Declares It ‘Illegal’

The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, July 13, formally announced that “most of” China’s maritime claim of the South China Sea is illegal.

During the announcement, Pompeo said that "Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them." He further described the move as something that strengthens U.S. policy.

The announcement is the latest further fueling the increasing tensions between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. has been particularly upset with China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak during the initial days, following with trade-related hiccups, reports related to cyberattacks and the most recent national security law issue concerning Hong Kong.

The senior fellow for Southeast Asia and director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies has described the move taken by the U.S. as “pretty significant.”

In his statement, Pompeo reassured that the world will not allow China to claim the South China Sea as its maritime empire. He added that the U.S. stands in support of its southeast Asian allies and will protect its sovereignty and the rights under the international laws.

Poling described the decision as a “big blow diplomatically,” but also added that a lot of it will depend on how the U.S. acts through after Monday’s announcement by Pompeo.

"It lets the US very clearly call out China's activities as illegal, not just destabilizing or unhelpful, but to say this is illegal," he said. "That helps partners like Vietnam and the Philippines, and it's going to put pressure on other countries -- the Europeans, for instance -- to get off the fence and say something themselves."

The U.S. has also declined China’s claim to the Mischief Reef and Second Thomas Shoal. American says that the two territories are lawfully under the “Philippines' sovereign rights and jurisdiction."

He also mentioned that the U.S. rejects “any PRC maritime claim in the waters surrounding Vanguard Bank (off Vietnam), Luconia Shoals (off Malaysia), waters in Brunei's EEZ, and Natuna Besar (off Indonesia)."