Tribunal acts as agent of external powers

The Philippines' arbitration case in the South China Sea dispute is a political farce enshrouded in a legal cloak. Its true purpose is to deny China's sovereignty and maritime interests.

When laws become political tools, their impartiality instantly disappears. On looking at the arbitral tribunal's actions it is impossible to escape the conclusion that the tribunal was acting as an agent of external powers.

A core appeal of the Philippines' case initiated by the government of former president Benigno Aquino III was to request the arbitral tribunal rule that China's historic rights in the South China Sea violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and deny China's Nine-Dash Line and maritime rights in the region.