Power Play
US report bolsters case against China claims on South China Sea
The latest US report on Beijing's claims in the South China Sea is valuable in helping South-east Asian claimants consolidate their arguments against China.
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Chinese coastguard ships sail in the South China Sea in a file photo from 2014.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - For two years, a team of American lawyers and officials worked to catalogue and analyse Beijing's maritime claims in the South China Sea.
The result was a near-exhaustive report released by the State Department's Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs last month rejecting China's claims as inconsistent with international law, which Beijing has hit back against.