UN Court of Arbitration will set a verdict on sea row on July 12 2016.

July 12, 2016 is the date where Permanent Court of Arbitration will set its ruling on the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China in relation to occupying the West Philippine Sea.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration says that 'there will be no in-person meeting or ceremony for the rendering of the award.

The historic case is handled by an arbitral tribunal at the PCA. In these arbitration proceedings, the Philippines seek to nullify China's expansive claim over practically the whole South China Sea, parts of which the Philippines claims as the West Philippine Sea.

"The Tribunal will issue its Award on Tuesday, 12 July 2016, at approximately 11 am CEST, The Hague," the PCA said in a statement Wednesday evening, June 29.

"The Award will first be issued via e-mail to the Parties, along with an accompanying Press Release containing a summary of the Award. The Press Release will be in English and French, with an unofficial Mandarin Chinese translation provided," the PCA added.

"The Parties will receive originally signed versions of the Award. Hard copies of the Award will also be sent to the Embassies of States that were granted observer status for the hearings. There will be no in-person meeting or ceremony for the rendering of the Award," the PCA said.

The Philippines filed the memorial before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2013 after Chinese ships refused to withdraw from the Panatag (Scarborough) shoal, which is being claimed by China and the Philippines. The shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The government argued that China’s nine-dash-line claim over almost the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) should be declared invalid because these are contrary to the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

Senior diplomats and foreign policy experts are holding marathon meetings at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to map out Manila’s strategy once the ruling has been handed down.