Hong Kong, July 21 -- The tenth anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's (PCA) unanimous ruling against Chinese claims in the South China Sea occurred on 12 July. In the lead-up to the anniversary, Beijing and its various organs ramped up their vitriol against the Philippines, which had taken this case to the international tribunal.

To commemorate the occasion, 14 countries signed a joint statement reaffirming their "unwavering commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable and rules-based, anchored in international law".

These nations were Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, the UK and the USA. Additionally, th...