Filipino Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay welcomed on Tuesday a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources in the South China Sea.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In January 2013, the Philippines filed a suit against China, claiming that Beijing had violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by its actions in the South China Sea. China refused to participate in the case. Earlier on Tuesday, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to South China Sea resources and violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the country’s exclusive economic zone.

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