The case before The Hague tribunal, filed by the Philippines, centers on the applicability of China’s vaguely drawn “nine-dash line” boundary claim in the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

It’s unclear why precisely the statement was retracted for amendment.

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Regardless of China’s arguments denying the panel’s legality, it “will damage China’s reputation and image”, said Yun Sun, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at the U.S. Stimson Center think tank.

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