Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea got its first big legal setback on Sunday. A United Nations Tribunal concluded that China has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" over the South China Sea, a resource-rich disputed territory that has become a battleground for sovereignty featuring as many as eight different competing countries. The tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines, which had contested the legality of Chinese activity in the South China Sea. The decision was unanimous and unambiguous about its conclusion: China lost.

"Having found that certain areas are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines,the Tribunal found that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone by (a) interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, (b) constructing artificial islands and (c) failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone."

Although the case only partially settled the dispute between the Philippines and China, it sets the template for any further aribtration involving all the other countries caught up in the South China Sea dispute: Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and Brunei. Crucially, the decision dismisses China's historical claims over the sea, putting a question-mark on the nine-dash line approach. The nine dashes are markings on a historical map of the South China Sea which China points to as proof backing its claims to the disputed waters.

The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the "nine-dash line".

In effect, the central pillar of the Chinese claim on the entire has just been knocked over. Naturally, Beijing has refused to recognise the verdict.

China disputed the UN Tribunal's jurisdiction from the very beginning, and reiterated that position after the decision was announced on Tuesday. An official statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the decision "null and void."

"The conduct of the Arbitral Tribunal and its awards seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration, completely deviate from the object and purpose of UNCLOS to promote peaceful settlement of disputes, substantially impair the integrity and authority of UNCLOS, gravely infringe upon China's legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS, and are unjust and unlawful."

China's state-run media went even further.

A writer at Xinhua said the proceedings had obvious loopholes, undermined international law and set a bad example for settling sovereign disputes. The piece insisted that China would never recognise the verdict and never be forced into accepting it either. "It's high time to put an end to this farce that has dragged on for too long," Jiang Li wrote.

Wang Xiaohui, editor-in-chief of China.org.cn, was even more eloquent. In a frothy piece published on the People's Daily, Wang said the United States had used the Philippines as its "flunkey" and that its military actions in conjunction with Japan and South Korea were responsible for unsettling the region.

"For the U.S., sabotaging the relations between China and ASEAN countries is an effective way to hinder China's development, apart from being a best solution with low cost and high efficiency to increase Southeast Asian countries' dependence on it."

Meanwhile, within China people didn't get a chance to find out what had gone wrong

The Philippines verdict may be the culmination of a lengthy legal process, but the decision represents just the beginning of a continued rivalry in the region that will not be resolved any time soon. China's defiant response means it is far from willing to give up its claims, although it has been dealt a very serious blow. The verdict also is a shot in the arm for US allies in the region, but a big unknown for the regional geopolitics looms ahead: What happens if Donald Trump wins the US presidency?