via China Daily, 12 May 2021: The South China Sea has been a source of contention because of China’s claims of sovereignty to a large part of the region, leading to territorial disputes against Vietnam and Philippines among others. This article appears to be a rebuttal to recent claims made by a former Philippine Supreme Court Justice in an editorial (Note: I can’t seem to locate the editorial at this time). The Philippines and China went to arbitration under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and in 2016 ruled in favour of the Philippines, but China did not accept the ruling.
A recent article published by Philippine Daily Inquirer by the retired Philippine Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio sought to support Philippine sovereignty over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea by claiming that the country had the “oldest documentary evidence”. However, a review of history shows that the Philippines has no historical basis for its claim to the Spratly Islands, by contrast, sufficient historical records and archeological evidence consolidate the basis of China’s sovereignty to features in the South China Sea.
China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea backed by reliable historical evidence
