The disputed waters are rich in marine life and natural resources, including oil deposits, and form one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes. © Reuters
MANILA — A United Nations court of arbitration said Wednesday it would pronounce its findings July 12 on a petition lodged by the Philippines against China in early 2013 over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

The Philippines asked the tribunal to define nine maritime features in the South China Sea that can be used to identify exclusive economic zones in waters disputed by the two countries.

There are also overlapping claims from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, making the region the most serious source of friction between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China.

China’s claim is based on its so-called Nine Dash Line, which sets a boundary stretching from Taiwan to the Natuna Islands off Borneo in Indonesia.

Although any court ruling is nonbinding, China has consistently said it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in the Netherlands, and that the dispute does not come under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Territorial disputes, China has said, should be resolved bilaterally between countries. Writing in a Malaysian newspaper recently, Huang Huikang, China’s ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, described the dispute as “hyped up” because of “high-profile interference and the manipulation by some powers outside the region.” Huang labeled the Philippine petition to The Hague as a unilateral move — “illegal arbitration” — and advocated “amicable consultations” as the appropriate solution.

The disputed waters are rich in marine life and natural resources, including oil deposits, and form one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.

The Philippines has accused China of violating international law by interfering with its sovereign rights and destroying the regional maritime environment by “destructive and hazardous fishing practices,” including harvesting of endangered species.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/UN-ruling-on-South-China-Sea-due-July-12