South China Sea: Philippines accuses China of “irresponsible and provocative” behavior. China claims almost the entire South China Sea for itself.
The conflict involves the crew of a former warship that intentionally ran aground on a reef in the Spratly Islands in 1999 to protect Manila's maritime claims. In the dispute between the Philippines and China, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague declared in 2016 that China's claims had no legal basis. However, China's Foreign Ministry announced that it "does not recognize third-party arbitration with regard to territorial disputes"