ANNUAL REPORT

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nam—would be off limits.* Starting on July 19, PLA Naval Aviation
fighter aircraft conducted a live fire exercise in the South
China Sea. 37 It is unclear whether the exercise had been planned
prior to the tribunal’s announcement.
On July 18, a PLA Air Force spokesperson said the PLA Air
Force had recently carried out a combat air patrol near Scarborough
Reef and other South China Sea reefs and islands. Among
the aircraft that participated in the patrol were H–6K bombers,
fighters, and tankers. The spokesperson said the PLA Air Force
‘‘will continue to conduct combat patrols on a regular basis in the
South China Sea.’’ 38 On August 6, the spokesperson said H–6K
bombers, Su-30 fighters, and other aircraft conducted another patrol
above the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Reef as part of
combat training. 39
Dispute Diplomacy
During the three and a half years between the initiation of the
Philippines’ arbitration case and the tribunal’s ruling, China expended
resources and energy to discredit the Philippines’ case and
the legitimacy of the proceedings, arguing that it would ‘‘neither
accept nor participate in the arbitration.’’ 40 In the months leading
up to the ruling in particular, Beijing began a campaign of diplomatic
warfare 41 to solicit support from other countries, and suggested
in June that nearly 60 countries had pledged support to
China’s position, 42 although in reality only 31 foreign governments
made public statements to that effect before the ruling.† 43 The
Chinese government and government-affiliated entities also placed
advertisements and editorials in overseas media outlets, including
the United States’ Washington Post 44 and San Francisco Chronicle,
45 the UK’s Telegraph, 46 and Australia’s The Age, 47 supporting
Beijing’s stance on the arbitration. In addition, following the tribunal’s
ruling, a three-minute video supporting China’s position
played on a large screen 120 times per day above New York City’s
Times Square for 12 days in July and August.‡ 48 Through diplomatic
pressure and economic leverage China has also succeeded in
preventing other South China Sea claimants from rallying in opposition
to China’s activities or in support of the legal arbitration
process. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) §—five of whom have claims in the South China Sea—
* State practice under international law has been that countries issue these kinds of notices
prior to military exercises for safety reasons, but they cannot prohibit ships and aircraft from
entering the area. Steve Mollman, ‘‘China Illegally Cordoned off a Huge Part of the South China
Sea for Military Drills—And Will Likely Do So Again,’’ Quartz, July 11, 2016.
† These were Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Iraq, Jordan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestine,
Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, United
Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, and Yemen. The joint statement between China and the 21 countries
of the Arab League at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in June 2016, which included
a section on the resolution of territorial and maritime disputes, is counted as a statement of
support from each of these countries. Center for Strategic and International Studies, Asia Maritime
Transparency Initiative, Arbitration Support Tracker, June 15, 2016.
‡ In 2015, the privately-funded Hainan Nanhai Research Foundation, which is affiliated with
China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies, founded a think tank called the Institute
for China-America Studies. The institute is located in Washington, DC. Institute for China-
America Studies; Jeremy Page, ‘‘New Chinese Institute to Tackle Thorny Island Dispute,’’ Wall
Street Journal, May 1, 2015.
§ ASEAN members are Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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