NINE-DASH LINE: THE BONE OF CONTENTION

At the heart of the South China Sea dispute is the “nine-dash line”, which Beijing claims encircles 90% of the contested waters. The line runs 2,000km from the mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam

1947: China demarcated its territorial claims with a U-shaped line made up of eleven dashes on a map, covering most of the area. The Communist Party, which took over in 1949, removed the Gulf of Tonkin portion in 1953, erasing two of the dashes to make it a nine-dash line

1995: China took control of disputed Mischief Reef, constructing octagonal huts on stilts that China said will serve as shelters for fishermen. The Philippines lodged a protest through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

2009: China submitted its nine-dash line map to the UN, saying it “has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters”

2013: The Philippines brought its dispute with China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, angering Beijing. A fivemember panel of international legal experts was appointed in June to hear the case

2015: The Hague arbitration

panel in ruled in October that it had jurisdiction over at least seven of the 15 claims raised by the Philippines

July 12, 2016: The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines.