MANILA, Philippines (AP) A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks

to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international
law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted
the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday by a tribunal in The
Hague.
Some questions and answers about the case:
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Q: WHAT'S THE CASE ABOUT?
A: After years of diplomatic negotiations ended nowhere, the Philippines brought its dispute with China
to international arbitration in January 2013, despite Beijing's warnings of a diplomatic and economic
backlash.
China wants to negotiate directly with the Philippines and each of the four other claimants in an
arrangement that would give it leverage for its sheer size and influence. Beijing has steadfastly
opposed bringing the disputes to an international arena, which could provide the U.S. a chance to
intervene.
The Philippines asked a tribunal of five arbitrators to declare as invalid China's vast claims, known as
nine-dash lines for the dashes that demarcate virtually all of the South China Sea as Chinese territory,
under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS. China and the Philippines are
among more than 160 signatories of the 1982 convention, regarded as the constitution that governs and
stipulates the rights of countries in using the world's oceans.
With China's sprawling claims, the Philippines stands to lose a huge chunk of off-shore territory, said
Antonio Carpio, an associate Supreme Court justice who has made extensive studies on the conflicts.
"This Chinese aggression is the gravest external threat to the Philippines since World War II," he said.
The Philippines also asked the tribunal to classify whether a number of disputed areas are islands, lowtide coral outcrops or submerged banks to determine the stretch of territorial waters they are entitled to
under the convention. It also wants China to be declared in violation of the convention for carrying out
fishing and construction activities that breached the Philippines' maritime rights. The convention does
not deal with sovereignty questions, which the Philippine government says it did not raise.
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Q: HOW DID IT START?

A: Although the disputes have simmered for decades, they gradually escalated under former Philippine
President Benigno Aquino III and culminated in 2012 when China took effective control of the disputed
Scarborough Shoal after a tense standoff.
U.S. officials brokered an arrangement for Philippine government vessels and larger Chinese maritime
surveillance ships to simultaneously withdraw from the tiny shoal, a deal which Aquino said he followed.
Chinese ships never left.
Chinese coast guard ships also surrounded another disputed area, the Second Thomas Shoal, which
has been guarded by Filipino marines on board a grounded rusty warship. The Chinese coast guard
has tried to block Philippine vessels from bringing food, water, medicines and other supplies to the
marines, sparking dangerous cat-and-mouse chases at high seas.
The Philippines said it had no other choice but to elevate the dispute to international arbitration.
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Q: WILL THE ARBITRATION CHANGE ANYTHING?
A: Any ruling will be final and legally binding on China and the Philippines. China's decision to ignore
the case and the arbitration tribunal's lack of enforcement mechanism, however, have blunted the
Philippines' move.
Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who spearheaded the filing of the complaint
against China, said that a favorable ruling on any of the 15 issues raised by the Philippines, especially
the demand to declare China's claims invalid under UNCLOS, would be a major blow to Beijing and a
moral victory that could be harnessed by the Philippines to its advantage.
The Philippines, Filipino diplomats said, could work with Washington and other countries to demand
Chinese compliance in diplomatic forums worldwide, including before the United Nations.
If it doesn't comply, China risks being seen as a rogue nation at a time it expands its political and
economic influence on the world stage.
Carpio painted a dire picture if the tribunal fails to rule on the validity of China's sprawling claims, saying
Beijing would enforce its nine-dash territorial lines as its national boundary. The U.S. military would
intensify its patrols to promote freedom of navigation, China would try to push the Americans back and
the claimants engage in an arms race.