The South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the Philippines in 2013 is being watched closely by the international community as the court's ruling may be announced before the end of June.

Whatever the outcome, the case, which aims to overrule Beijing's time-honored legal interests in the South China Sea, ranging from navigation and fishing to administrative management, is built on shaky legal ground.

To begin with, the issue of territorial sovereignty is beyond the scope of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, thus the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has no jurisdiction over the case, since in essence it is concerned with territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea.