VIDEO EXPLAINER | 10 NOVEMBER 2026
As per the video, China’s grip on the South China Sea is tightening. New rules for Scarborough Shoal came into effect on 1 August, and a new artificial island has appeared in the Paracels. The legal backdrop is UNCLOS, the 1994 convention on the law of the sea, and the 2016 award in Philippines v China. The reports below are as of 2 Nov 2026, as per the video; analysts’ assessments are marked as assessments and not as confirmed facts.
What happened
Scarborough Shoal lies about 240 km west of Luzon island in the Philippines. China calls it Huangyan Dao and has controlled the shoal since 2012.
In September 2025 China’s State Council approved the Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve at the shoal.
The management measures that have now been issued bar entry into the reserve without permission and also bar unauthorised fishing. These rules came on 1 August.
The Philippines rejected the reserve, and the United States has also rejected it.
The second matter concerns the Paracel Islands, which China took in 1974 from the navy of South Vietnam.
As per Reuters, China has completed the first phase of construction on Antelope Reef, which is the new artificial island in the Paracels.
Analysts believe this could become China’s largest military base. The video clearly says this is an assessment and not a confirmed fact, so it should not be written as an established statement in any answer.
Background and the rules behind it
UNCLOS stands for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It came into force in 1994.
Under UNCLOS a coastal state gets a 12 nautical mile territorial sea and a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
In 2016 a tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS gave its award in the Philippines v China case.
The tribunal held that China’s nine-dash-line historic rights claim has no lawful effect over UNCLOS.
The tribunal did not give any verdict on the sovereignty of any island. This is the commonest point on which students make mistakes.
The case was registered at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. It was not a case in the International Court of Justice.
China is a party to UNCLOS and still rejects the award. The award is binding on the parties, but there is no separate authority to enforce it.
India is also a party to UNCLOS. Judge Neeru Chadha is the first Indian woman judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or ITLOS.
As a general rule of the Convention, a rock that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of its own does not get an EEZ (Article 121, clause 3). The video does not discuss this clause, but it is part of the same UNCLOS framework.
Key terms
- UNCLOS: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in force since 1994, which sets out the maritime zones of coastal states.
- Territorial sea: The belt of 12 nautical miles that a coastal state gets under UNCLOS.
- Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): The zone of 200 nautical miles that a coastal state gets under UNCLOS.
- Nine-dash line: China’s historic rights claim in the South China Sea, which the 2016 tribunal said has no lawful effect over UNCLOS.
- Annex VII tribunal: The arbitral tribunal under UNCLOS that gave the 2016 award in Philippines v China.
- Permanent Court of Arbitration: The body at The Hague where the case was registered. It is different from the International Court of Justice.
Constitutional / Legal / Institutional framework
- UNCLOS: in force in 1994; 12 nautical mile territorial sea and 200 nautical mile EEZ for a coastal state.
- Annex VII tribunal, 2016: award in Philippines v China; the nine-dash-line historic rights claim has no lawful effect over UNCLOS; no verdict on the sovereignty of any island.
- Forum: registered at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, not at the International Court of Justice.
- Enforcement: the award binds the parties, but no separate authority enforces it; China, though a party to UNCLOS, rejects it.
- India: a party to UNCLOS; Judge Neeru Chadha is the first Indian woman judge at ITLOS.
CLAT angle
- What the 2016 tribunal decided (the nine-dash-line claim has no lawful effect) and what it did not decide (sovereignty).
- Which forum: Annex VII tribunal registered at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, not the ICJ.
- Numbers: 12 nautical mile territorial sea and 200 nautical mile EEZ.
- Separate fact from assessment: the first phase of construction at Antelope Reef is reported by Reuters, while the ‘largest military base’ point is only analysts’ assessment.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1974 | China takes the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam’s navy |
| 1994 | UNCLOS comes into force |
| 2012 | China begins control over Scarborough Shoal |
| 2016 | Annex VII tribunal gives its award in Philippines v China |
| 2025 (September) | China’s State Council approves the Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve |
| 2026-08-01 | New management measures for the reserve come into effect |
| Reported | The Philippines and the US reject the reserve |
| Reported (Reuters) | First phase of construction at Antelope Reef is complete |
Mnemonic / memory hook
Keep the two disputes apart.
Scarborough Shoal is about 240 km west of Luzon and China has controlled it since 2012. The Paracels were taken by China in 1974 from South Vietnam’s navy. The 2016 award spoke on the nine-dash line, not on who owns the islands.
Why this matters for exams
Exam questions on the South China Sea usually ask who decided what, and in which forum. The safe sequence is this: UNCLOS gives zones; the Annex VII tribunal looked at the Philippines v China dispute; it said the nine-dash-line historic rights claim has no lawful effect over UNCLOS; and it did not decide sovereignty over any island.
Notice the difference between law and enforcement. The award is binding, but there is no separate authority to enforce it, and China rejects it while remaining a party to UNCLOS. Legal reasoning passages often test this gap between a binding award and its practical effect.
Also practise distinguishing a report from a confirmed fact. Reuters reports that the first phase of construction at Antelope Reef is complete, whereas the claim about the largest military base is only an assessment by analysts.
Source
This article summarises the video explainer. Status is as of 2 Nov 2026; check official statements for later changes.
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