Statement on US State Department’s Limits in the Seas No. 150: People’s Republic of China: Maritime Claims in the South China Sea

21 January 2022 – We welcome the affirmation of the 2016 Arbitral Award by the US State Department's Limits in the Seas No. 150: People's Republic of China: Maritime Claims in the South China Sea. This is consistent with the Philippines-US Joint Vision Statement issued on 16 November 2021, which states that the People's Republic of China's (PRC) expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with the international law of the sea as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with the unanimous July 12, 2016 Award in the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of Philippines v. The People's Republic of China), a decision that, pursuant to the Convention, is legally binding on the Philippines and the PRC.