Though the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled against China in a bitter row over territorial claims to the South China Sea (SCS) that is likely to ratchet up regional tensions and India will be watching the ruling carefully, because it would have implications for India’s security and economic interests. India has a range of interests in this region like creation of a ‘blue’ ocean economy including protection of offshore infrastructure and maritime resources, safety of trade and sea lanes of communication and a regionally favourable geostrategic maritime-position. The dispute dates back to 2013 when Philippines lodged its suit against Beijing, saying China was in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both countries are signatories. It had questioned the validity of China’s ‘9-DashLine’ through which China claims almost 90 per cent of the South China Sea. It has also challenged China’s constructions on some of the rocks and land features in the sea, asking the Court to define them as “low tide elevations”, “rocks” or “islands” each of which have different implications in terms of EEZ. All eyes were watching for reaction from the Asian political and military powerhouse, which had fired off a barrage of criticism even before the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague was announced. China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital waters in the face of rival claims from its southeast Asian neighbours. The Chinese contention were first enshrined in a map drawn in the 1940s with a nine-dash line stretching south from China and encircling almost all of the sea, although it says Chinese fishermen have been using it for centuries. To bolster its position it has rapidly turned reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. India will have to trudge carefully especially after the NSG fiasco where China made its stand strong to keep India out of the elite nuclear club over and above when it has economic interest in the region especially tie up with Vietnam for oil explorations and maritime resources besides maritime trade lines.
