“In contrast, South Korea was absent from this statement, which appears to reflect consideration of China. In U.S. political and diplomatic circles, there is a prevailing view that, similar to how China drew the nine-dash line in the South China Sea to escalate disputes, it is attempting to turn the Yellow Sea into what amounts to a Chinese inland sea, a critical economic, military, and diplomatic hub. Last year, it was revealed through an investigation by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, a Washington D.C.-based foreign policy and security think tank, that Chinese vessels pursued and pressured a South Korean survey ship for 15 hours. Experts told this newspaper: ‘If South Korea fails to take serious measures, it will end up like the Philippines, which missed its golden opportunity’ (Steven Yates, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation); and ‘South Korea has more it can do to uphold international norms in the Indo-Pacific region than it is currently doing’ (Michael Green, Director of the Center for U.S. Studies at the University of Sydney in Australia).”
https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2026/07/12/MZPSQ72GSBAUNARSXTJBWMCYTY/
See also: US, UK, 12 other nations reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims in South China Sea
“The convention, largely regarded as the treaty governing the world’s oceans and seas, took effect in 1994 and has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines.
In addition to the US and Britain, the other countries listed in Sunday’s statement included the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.”