A decade after a small nation chose law over arms, the South China Sea remains contested in practice but transformed in principle. In July 2016, an international tribunal ruled China's sweeping maritime claims unlawful under the Law of the Sea — a verdict Beijing dismissed as waste paper yet has never been able to fully escape. The Philippines' arbitration victory did not move China's ships, but it moved something harder to relocate: the moral and legal grammar by which the world now judges power in the Pacific.
A Decade Later, Philippines' South China Sea Arbitration Win Still Shapes Regional Rules
Chinese vessels have engaged in dangerous maneuvers against Philippine personnel and fishermen, including severing a sailor's thumb in 2024, and blocking access to traditional fishing grounds.