Philippines, Malaysia and Japan take on China over illegal territorial claims, especially the South China Sea

China’s ties with key SE Asian nations and Japan appear to be worsening over Beijing’s aggressive policy to claim territories with scant regard for international law. The Philippines on Sunday publicly called on China to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated its massive claim over the resource-rich South China Sea, four years since the decision was handed down by an international court in The Hague, Netherlands. "Compliance in good faith with the award would be consistent with the obligations of the Philippines …