How Philippines is reshaping South China Sea defence, 10 years after Hague ruling

How Philippines is reshaping China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea defence, 10 years after Hague rulingOfficials and analysts say Manila’s deterrence strategies can now make China ‘at least hesitate’, even though there is still much to be done4-MIN READ4-MIN1ListenPublished: 8:16pm, 13 Jul 2026Updated: 9:25pm, 13 Jul 2026A decade after a tribunal in The Hague ruled on July 12, 2016, that Beijing’s sweeping China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea claims had no legal basis, Philippine officials and analysts say Manila remains heavily outmatched at sea but has begun turning its landmark legal victory into a more credible form of deterrence.The Philippines brought the case in 2013 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), challenging Beijing’s nine-dash line and other claims.The tribunal ruled that China’s nine-dash line had no legal basis and that it had violated Manila’s sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone, though it did not decide which country owned the disputed reefs and features.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x