In the almost-decade since the international arbitration ruling that upheld the Philippines' Maritime claims in the South China Sea, China's government has consistently and unequivocally stated its position of "non-acceptance and non-recognition in relation to the decision." On April 27, legal experts in China gathered in Hangzhou to re-examine the award.

Ma Xinmin, Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China condemned the decision as undermining the international rule of law.

Ma said, "The arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration egregiously exceeded its jurisdiction, abused and expanded its power, and infringed on China's rights and interests, rendering the awards illegal and invalid from the beginning."

The arbitral Tribunal ruling came down largely in favour of the Philippines and invalidated China's maritime claims in the South China Sea. It has remained a topic of ongoing debate and scrutiny in China ever since.

Wu Shicun, the Founding President China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, indicated, "The eight years have demonstrated that the arbitration ruling has greatly disrupted the peace and stability of the South China Sea. Provocative actions against China in the South China Sea, such as joint patrols, law enforcement activities by the Coast Guard, and military exercises, are all endorsed by the arbitration ruling."

Then he said, "The consensus among experts at the symposium is that the arbitral tribunal's ruling lacks impartiality and fairness."

Professor Zhang Xinjun from School of Law, Tsinghua University pointed out the tribunal's alleged neglect of what's known as "special responsibility" in circumstances when one party fails to appear in court, which could lead to the ruling being annulled.

Zhang said, "First, it failed to provide reasoning in the ruling on China's jurisdictional objections and to take 'special responsibility' in the merits phase for this previous failure."

Professor Huang Yao from Sun Yat-sen University criticised the ruling from an evidentiary standpoint, highlighting what she sees as its disregard for contemporary evidence in favour of outdated historical sources.

She also questioned the tribunal's reliance on Japanese evidence, "We believe the arbitration tribunal has malicious intent and its position is unfair."

Yan Yan, the director of National Institute for South China Sea Studies raised a series of problems in evaluating the tribunal's findings, asserting that they go against the fundamental nature of maritime space.

Yan said, "I think the most fundamental one is that the tribunal wrongly addressed separately the states of competent features of China's Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao and separated Island regime issue with the territorial and maritime delimitation dispute with China."

Symposium participants expressed hope for a mutually beneficial resolution to the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines.

Wu Shicun stressed, "It's impossible to solve such a dispute in the near future, so only when now is putting aside the differences between China and the Philippines consciously and go in forward for joint development and promote marine cooperation."

Yan Yan said, "We still need to go back to the right track of negotiation and consultation between our two countries, and to sit down and talk about what the disputes are really are about the territorial sovereignty issue and also the maritime delimitation issue to find out the solutions by ourselves. Face to face."

(Source: CGTN)