South China Sea: A geo-political battleground?

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague recently rejected China's claim to economic rights over large areas of the South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines. In the almost 500-page long ruling, the court declared China had no legal basis on which to assert so-called "historic rights" to rich natural resources, such as energy and minerals. Around $7 trillion Australian dollars' worth of ship-borne trade passes through the area annually. To know more on the issue and its implications for Australia-China relationship and India's role in the region, we spoke to Prof Shankari Sundararaman who is Chairman of JNU's Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies.

Protesters display their message during a rally outside of the Chinese Consulate on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, in Makati city east of Manila, Philippines Source: AAP