International tribunal invalidates China’s claims

> In a landmark ruling in July, an international tribunal in The Hague invalidated China’s historic claims in the South China Sea

> The tribunal ruled that the Chinese government violated the Filipinos’ right to fish in Scarborough > Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte insisted during his trip to Beijing that the shoal off his country’s northwestern coast belonged to the Philippines

> He also made it clear that the Chinese also asserted their claim of ownership

> A Chinese official insisted on China’s ownership of virtually the entire contested sea on historical grounds