International pressure on China regarding disputed waters in the Asia-Pacific region escalated sharply on July 12, 2026. In a joint statement, a total of 14 countries - including the US, the Philippines, Japan and the UK - categorically stated that Beijing's extensive territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis. The document was published on Sunday, marking exactly ten years since the landmark 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which recognized the rights of the Philippines in region.
A united international response
In addition to the initiators, the Philippines, the United States and Japan, the joint statement was signed by 11 other countries: Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, as well as the three Baltic republics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“We reaffirm that the decision rendered 10 years ago by the Arbitration Tribunal is a significant and important step. It is final, legally binding and definitive between China and the Philippines“, the joint statement said. The European Union also joined the diplomatic offensive through a separate official position of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, describing the decision in The Hague as “a regrettable moment for the peaceful settlement of international disputes“.
The signatories expressed deeply concerned by the increasing number of dangerous incidents in the region and declared their firm opposition to any destabilizing, unilateral actions or attempts at coercion by force. The text explicitly criticizes Beijing's practice of using its coast guard, navy and so-called "maritime militia" to obstruct and intimidate the legitimate maritime operations and fishing of other states.
Context of the dispute: A decade of escalation
In 2013, Manila filed a case against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On July 12, 2016, the International Tribunal ruled that China's historical claims, illustrated by the infamous nine-dash line (covering nearly 90% of the South China Sea), were invalid.
In recent years confrontations in the waters have become increasingly frequent. Manila and Hanoi have repeatedly accused Chinese ships of using powerful water cannons, military lasers and dangerous blocking maneuvers in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, leading to clashes on the high seas. The current administration of President Donald Trump in Washington, continuing the line of the previous administration, has already warned that the United States is obliged by an alliance treaty to defend the Philippines in the event of an armed attack on its forces or vessels.
Beijing's reaction: “The resolution is just waste paper“
China's Foreign Ministry issued a sharp statement on Sunday evening, rejecting the statement by the 14 nations. Chinese diplomacy stressed that the country has indisputable historical sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters.
“The so-called "The arbitration award is nothing more than a piece of waste paper, which is illegal, null and void and has no binding force," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Beijing accused external powers, especially the United States, of artificially increasing their military presence and "adding fuel to the fire," threatening regional peace.
In a diplomatic response to the coordinated statement, China officially summoned the acting Japanese ambassador in Beijing to express strong protest against the Japanese foreign minister's statements and Tokyo's participation in the joint document, calling their actions "provocations."
Sources Reuters and Associated Press; Official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China; Press release of the Council of the European Union.