IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 830 
Calling for all parties to respect the arbitral tribunal ruling with regard 
to the South China Sea and to express United States policy on freedom 
of navigation and overflight in the East and South China Seas. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2016 
Mr. POMPEO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for all parties to respect the arbitral tribunal ruling 
with regard to the South China Sea and to express 
United States policy on freedom of navigation and over-
flight in the East and South China Seas. 
Whereas, on July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitra-
tion (PCA) of the International Tribunal of the Law of 
the Sea (‘‘Tribunal’’), constituted under the United Na-
tions Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 
done at Montego Bay, December 10, 1982, issued a le-
gally binding ruling on the parties in the case brought at 
the request of the Republic of Philippines against the 
People’s Republic of China concerning a dispute over the 
maritime jurisdiction in the South China Sea; 
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•HRES 830 IH 
Whereas the Tribunal supported the Philippines’ claim that 
China breached its sovereign rights, ruling that ‘‘China 
has, by promulgating its 2012 moratorium on fishing in 
the South China Sea, without exception for areas of the 
South China Sea falling within the exclusive economic 
zone of the Philippines and without limiting the morato-
rium to Chinese flagged vessels, breached Article 56 of 
the Convention with respect to the Philippines’ sovereign 
rights over the living resources of its exclusive economic 
zone’’; 
Whereas the Tribunal invalidated China’s so-called ‘‘nine- 
dash line’’ sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, 
concluding that ‘‘as between the Philippines and China, 
China’s claims to historic rights, or other sovereign rights 
or jurisdiction, with respect to the maritime areas of the 
South China Sea encompassed by the relevant part of the 
‘nine-dash line’ are contrary to the Convention and with-
out lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geo-
graphic and substantive limits of China’s maritime enti-
tlements under the Convention’’; 
Whereas, on January 22, 2013, arbitration began when the 
Philippines served China with a Notification and State-
ment of Claim pursuant to the UNCLOS provisions con-
cerning the resolution of disputes and the arbitration pro-
cedure; 
Whereas, on February 19, 2013, China rejected and returned 
the Philippines’ Notification and since that date has re-
fused to participate in the arbitration proceedings; 
Whereas, on June 21, 2013, the Tribunal was constituted 
pursuant to the procedure set out in Annex VII of the 
UNCLOS to decide the dispute presented by the Phil-
ippines; 
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•HRES 830 IH 
Whereas, on October 29, 2015, the Tribunal held that ‘‘both 
the Philippines and China are parties to [UNCLOS] and 
bound by its provisions on the settlement of disputes,’’ 
that ‘‘China’s decision not to participate in these pro-
ceedings does not deprive the Tribunal of jurisdiction,’’ 
and that ‘‘the Philippines’ decision to commence arbitra-
tion unilaterally was not an abuse of the Convention’s 
dispute settlement procedures’’; 
Whereas the South China Sea is one of the world’s most stra-
tegically important commercial waterways, and almost 30 
percent of the world’s maritime trade transits the South 
China 
Sea 
annually, 
including 
approximately 
$1,200,000,000,000 in ship-borne trade bound for the 
United States; 
Whereas, according to the United States Energy Information 
Administration, there are approximately 11,000,000,000 
barrels and 190,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of proven 
and probable oil and natural gas reserves in the South 
China Sea; 
Whereas, according to the United States Department of De-
fense, ‘‘[a]lthough the United States takes no position on 
competing sovereignty claims to land features in the re-
gion, all such claims must be based upon land (which in 
the case of islands means naturally formed areas of land 
that are above water at high tide), and all maritime 
claims must derive from such land in accordance with 
international law,’’; 
Whereas, according to the Department of Defense, ‘‘[s]ince 
Chinese land reclamation efforts began in December 
2013, China has reclaimed land at seven of its eight 
Spratly outposts and, as of June 2015, had reclaimed 
more than 2,900 acres of land’’; 
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•HRES 830 IH 
Whereas, according to Director of National Intelligence: 
‘‘China continued its land reclamation efforts at Subi and 
Mischief Reefs after 5 August 2015, based on commercial 
imagery. Between that date and late October, when rec-
lamation activity ended, China reclaimed more than 100 
additional acres of land.’’; 
Whereas, according to the Director of National Intelligence: 
‘‘We assess that China has established the necessary in-
frastructure to project military capabilities in the South 
China Sea beyond that which is required for point de-
fense of its outposts. These capabilities could include the 
deployment of modern fighter aircraft, surface-to-air mis-
siles (SAMS), and coastal defense cruise missiles, as well 
as increased presence of People’s Liberation Army Navy 
(PLAN) surface combatants and China Coast Guard 
(CCG) large patrol ships.’’; 
Whereas, according to the Director of National Intelligence: 
‘‘We assess that China will continue to pursue construc-
tion and infrastructure development at its expanded out-
posts in the South China Sea. Based on the pace and 
scope of construction at these outposts, China will be able 
to deploy a range of offensive and defensive military ca-
pabilities and support increased PLAN and CCG pres-
ence beginning in 2016.’’; 
Whereas, on May 30, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton 
Carter stated at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, 
‘‘[T]he United States will continue to protect freedom of 
navigation and [overflight—principles] that have ensured 
security and prosperity in this region for decades. There 
should be no mistake: the United States will fly, sail, and 
operate wherever international law allows, as United 
States forces do all over the world.’’; 
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•HRES 830 IH 
Whereas, in October 2015, January 2016, and May 2016, the 
United States Navy conducted three freedom of naviga-
tion operations (FONOP) in the area, transiting inside 
the 12-mile nautical zone of the contested features in the 
South China Sea; 
Whereas Article 5 of the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 
United States and the Republic of the Philippines, signed 
on August 30, 1951, states that ‘‘an armed attack on ei-
ther of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack 
on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or 
on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pa-
cific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in 
the Pacific’’; and 
Whereas the United States reiterates its security commitment 
to Japan and reaffirms that Article 5 of the United 
States-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security 
covers all territories under Japan’s administration, in-
cluding the Senkaku islands; Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the July 12, 2016, ruling issued 
by the Tribunal as binding on all parties in the case, 
and calls on all claimants to pursue peaceful resolu-
tion of outstanding maritime claims in the South 
China Sea consistent with international law; 
(2) urges all parties to take action to implement 
the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the 
South China Sea and take steps towards early con-
clusion of a meaningful Code of Conduct, which 
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