The Philippines hardly had any military of its own with which to respond. So it used the only weapon available to it—the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It brought a case challenging the 9-Dash Line to an international tribunal established in The Hague. Vietnam associated itself with the claim. In 2016, the tribunal delivered its verdict—wholly in the Philippines’ favor. It rejected the legal and historic claims of the 9-Dash Line. China denounced the decision and made clear that it would not recognize it, let alone abide by it or the Philippines’ “illegal claims.” The decision changed
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