Environmental accountability and the international perception of China are likely to be under scrutiny now, thanks to the Filipino plans to take legal action against Beijing over damages to maritime resources in the South China Sea. The legal case can lead to scrutiny of the Chinese adherence to international laws and responsibilities, which may hurt its reputation and standing in the global community.
China and the Philippines have already been witnessing strong clashes in the South China Sea in relation to the control over a few shoals. There has exchange of barbs as well as violent on-field clashes between the two countries. Now the legal case can add a new colour to the conflict, putting Chinese hegemony on trial.
Filipino Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said the appropriate legal remedy would be sought to hold Beijing accountable for the large-scale environmental degradation by Chinese activities in the South China Sea. “The sins are really so obvious. In the end, this is the best way to attack. There are many ways of solving a problem, but this is one of the most novel ways,” he said.
Beijing had refused to accept the 2016 ruling of the tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration which maintained that the contested shoal was a part of Filipino territory and Chinese activities amounted to infringement on Manila’s sovereign rights. Beijing continues to claim about 90 percent of the South China Sea, disallowing South Asian countries to exercise their maritime rights.
The 2016 case had helped the Philippines get support from the international community as well as allowed it to seek compliance with the 2016 arbitration from the United Nations. Now voices are coming in support of Manila as it explores new legal remedies against China. “We are seeking also more support of the international community, maybe for [other Unclos signatories] to fight the case,” said Andres Centino, chief advisor on maritime policy to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
A new legal case can be challenging for China to deal with as it would be seen as a violator of the rule-based international order. It would open Chinese actions in the South China Sea into global scrutiny, said Collin Koh, a maritime affairs expert at the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “To be dealt with a first defeat legally is one thing. But if you are dealt with a second legal defeat, again, I don’t think it actually reflects very well on China’s reputation,” Koh said.
Chinese activities led to the destruction of huge amount of coral reefs, inflicting massive ecological and economic harm, stressed a 2023 report by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Giant clam harvesting and dredging to build out its artificial islands by the Chinese disturbed the seafloor which killed nearby marine life and obstructed the coral reef’s capacity to repair itself.
“China has played the largest role, destroying or severely damaging at least 21,183 acres of coral reef—and likely much more—through island expansion and giant clam harvesting. It also dominates the industrialized overfishing that has devastated South China Sea fish stocks,” reads the report. During the same period, the Philippine Coast Guard also marine destruction in its maritime zone by Chinese militia vessels.
In November 2024, the Philippines government enacted two laws — the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act –asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea. China reacted strongly calling the Filipino laws “illegal and invalid.” It subsequently published new details of its maritime claims in the South China Sea, which it said was “consistent with international law and common practices.”
The legal fight has so far helped the Philippines to garner international support, especially, from the US as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is invoked. This will not just help the Philippines but the other South East Asian countries to present a united front against China’s extralegal position, said Harrison Prétat, deputy director at the CSIS. The Chinese reaction however may not find international support, he added. “Beijing has had little success selling the international community on this newest justification for its claims,” said Prétat. The US and European Union have extended their support to the Philippines’s sovereignty in the South China Sea. Now Australia threw its weight behind Manila.