PUBLISHED ONJuly 12, 2016 9:34 AM
THE HAGUE - China has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" to islands in the South China Sea, an international tribunal ruled on Tuesday (July 12) in a bitter dispute that risks stoking further tensions in South-east Asia.
"The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration said in a statement.