Philippines Sues China to Assert Claim Over Gas-Rich Waters

The Philippines challenged China’s claims to much of the South China Sea at a United Nations tribunal yesterday, seeking to check its neighbor’s push for control of disputed waters rich in oil, gas and fish.

The Southeast Asian nation asked the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to uphold its right to exploit waters within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The arbitration pleading, almost 4,000 pages long, was submitted electronically.