Australia rejects Beijing\`s South China Sea claims

Australia has rejected Beijing's territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea in a formal declaration to the United Nations_ aligning itself more closely with the United States in the escalating row. In a statement filed on Thursday_ Australia said there was "no legal basis" to several disputed Chinese claims in the sea_ including those related to the construction of artificial islands on small shoals and reefs. Australia rejects China's claim to 'historic rights' or 'maritime rights and interests' as established in the 'long course of historical practice' in the South China Sea_" the declaration read. The declaration comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Beijing's pursuit of territory and resources in the South China Sea as illegal_ explicitly backing the territorial claims of Southeast Asian countries against China's. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea based on a so-called nine-dash line_ a vague delineation from maps dating back to the 1940s. US relations with China have markedly deteriorated in recent months_ especially over trade disputes_ the coronavirus pandemic and Beijing's crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.