ASEAN countries should challenge China’s high seas claim on SCS - Asia & Pacific - The Jakarta Post

Asia & Pacific

China can say that ASEAN countries acquisced on China's claim that there are no high seas in South China Sea if ASEAN countries do not lodge formal protest with the United Nations Secretary General.

A satellite image shows fishing vessels blocked by a floating barrier at the entrance to the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in this file photo taken in the South China Sea on April 11, 2026. (Vantor via Reuters/handout)

ASEAN member states should immediately challenge China's declaration that there is no high seas in the South China Sea, given its claim that the entire sea falls within its territorial waters under the so-called ten-dash line, a retired Philippine judge said.China ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, also called the High Seas Treaty, on Dec. 22, 2025, and formally declared that there are no high seas in the South China Sea and that the High Seas Treaty does not apply there, retired Justice Antonio Carpio said on Monday.

“China claims that the waters within the 10-dash line are China's jurisdictional waters and the treaty applies only to waters beyond national jurisdiction,” he said on Monday.