Prior to the recent court ruling on China 's South China Sea claims , US officials spoke of mobilising a coalition to create a united front in the event that Beijing reversed the court 's decision . But two weeks after the verdict against China , the court 's ruling is in danger of becoming irrelevant . Only six countries have supported China 's calls for the ruling to be reversed and now Washington appears unkeen to press the case further . This may be because China is a key economic partner for the US and also out of reluctance to prompt Washington to escalate the dispute .
Prior to the recent court ruling on China's South China Sea claims, US officials spoke of mobilising a coalition to create a united front in the event that Beijing flouted the court's decision. But two weeks after the verdict against China, the court's ruling is in danger of becoming irrelevant. Only six countries have supported Washington's calls for the ruling to be binding and now Washington appears unkeen to press the issue further. This may be because China is a key economic partner for the US and also out of reluctance to prompt Beijing to escalate the dispute.