evidence: Opinion | Why did US diplomat say Scarborough Shoal belonged to the Philippines? - Amid South China Sea tensions, Nicholas Burns’ incorrect assertion that the disputed Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal were Philippine territory may reflect US bias at work - This highlights a hardening US stance against China and Beijing’s communication challenges He added: "The International Court of Justice, which is the relevant legal body, ruled in July 2016 decisively in favour of the Philippines. And so that that territory is the sovereign territory of the Philippines and that China’s legal claim to it has no basis in international law. All the rest of the world understands that and recognises that this is sovereign Filipino territory."