Thread by @GordianKnotRay

1/#China Coast Guard 5203 less than 3nm from Pag-Asa (Thitu) this morning with 3 militia ships (those visible on AIS). This is even closer than noted by @coastguardph yesterday, but not unusual. #China rejects the #Philippines’ right to a 12nm territorial sea around Pag-Asa (1/5)

2/The 2016 @UN Arbitral Tribunal case ruled that Pag-Asa carries the legal status of a “rock” under int’l law, meaning it’s always above water but can’t organically support human habitation. This affirmed its right to a legal 12nm territorial sea. (2/5)
amti.csis.org/thitu-island/

3/The Tribunal took no position on who “owns” which features in the Spratlys. For Pag-Asa it noted the #Philippines has occupied it since 1970 & claims only the 12nm sea earned by “rock” status (no separate exclusive economic zone). Pag-Asa lies outside any country’s EEZ. (3/5)

4/#China swarms its navy, coast guard & militia ships within the 12nm limit to send the message that it claims so-called “historic rights” over Pag-Asa—as well as everything else within its preposterously large “nine-dashed line”, which the Tribunal thoroughly rejected. (4/5)

5/The @coastguardph’s new transparency can’t itself stop #China from bullying, but it takes it from shadows to sunlight to be clearly seen by the #Philippines public & the world—exposing the lie behind Beijing’s deceptive “our common home” rhetoric. (5/5)
opinion.inquirer.net/155775/yes-the…