July 13

Then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement titled "U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea," openly endorsing the "South China Sea Arbitration Award" for the first time, claiming that the "award" is legally binding on both China and the Philippines, and asserting that most of China's maritime claims in the South China Sea are "completely illegal."

July 14

China responded sternly, pointing out that its position on the "South China Sea Arbitration" has been consistent and firm; the "Arbitral Tribunal" exceeded its authority by hearing the case in violation of the principle of State consent, and there were obvious errors in both fact-finding and the application of law. China firmly rejects the U.S. conduct in hyping up the "arbitration" and abusing international law for political purposes.

November 2020

The full text of "Legal Rebuttal of the South China Sea Arbitration Award," a collaborative effort between China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) and the UK-based international law firm Fietta LLP, was published online by Brill Nijhoff in the Asian Yearbook of International Law. This was the first professional report organized and led by a Chinese think tank, with in-depth participation from a renowned international law firm and top international law experts and senior litigators from the UK, the US, and the Netherlands, which comprehensively and systematically rebuts the many fallacies and flaws of the "Arbitral Tribunal" in such aspects as legal interpretation and application, admissibility of evidence, and fact-finding.