Australia labels China's claims to South China Sea illegal

Australia has rejected China's claim to key parts of the South China Sea,joining the United States in branding the territorial ambitions unlawful at the United Nations.

The move could pave the way for increased naval engagement in the area a week after Australian warships encountered the Chinese navy in disputed territory between Vietnam,Indonesia and the Philippines.

Vietnamese sailors watch the approach of a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Paracel Islands.

Vietnamese sailors watch the approach of a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Paracel Islands.Alamy

In its filing to the United Nations on Saturday,the Australian government said there was"no legal basis"for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of island groups including the Four Sha archipelagos,lay claim to the Paracel and Spratly Islands or maritime zones generated by low-tides. China often refers to these territories as being inside its nine-dash line.

"Australia rejects any claims to internal waters,territorial sea,exclusive economic zone and continental shelf based on such baselines,"the statement said.

"The Australian government encourages all claimants in the South China Sea,including China,to clarify their maritime claims and resolve their differences peacefully,in accordance with international law."

The strategically significant area has large oil,gas and fishing resources. Up to one-third of the world's shipping passes through it. South Korea and Japan rely heavily on the route for their supply of fuels and raw materials.

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper on Thursday accused the Chinese Community Party of bullying ASEAN nations out of the area's fishing grounds and an estimated $US2.6 trillion ($3.6 trillion) in potential offshore oil and gas revenue.

"Most concerning for me is the People’s Liberation Army continues its aggressive behaviour in the East and South China Seas,including sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat,harassing Malaysian oil and gas development,escorting Chinese fishing fleets into Indonesia’s claimed Exclusive Economic Zone and militarising occupied features in direct contravention of China's commitments under international law,"he said.

On July 14,the US guided-missile destroyer Ralph Johnson navigated near the Spratly Islands,a network partly comprised of man-made atolls. Satellite images from the same week show China had stationed eight fighter jets on another disputed island in the area.

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The filing comes as Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds fly to Washington on Sunday for major talks with their US counterparts at the most tense time for Australia-Sino relations since diplomatic links were established in the 1970s.

Senators Payne and Reynolds,who will have to self-quarantine for 14 days when they return to Australia,will have a series of meetings with Esper and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as part of the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations.

In a sign of the rising gravity of the geopolitical situation,Washington has insisted on face-to-face meetings at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the US.

The developments follow rising animosity between China and western governments over its imposition of national security laws in Hong Kong,the Chinese Communist Party's treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority and the rejection of its flagship telecommunications provider Huawei from 5G networks around the world.

Eryk Bagshaw is the North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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