Full coverage: South China Sea Is Indisputable Part of China

British legal expert Tony Carty warns that manipulation of opinion by the United States and its allies lies behind the arbitration by the Philippines against China on the South China Sea.

Carty and other international legal experts and lawyers signed a legal opinion document this month questioning the tribunal's jurisdiction.

He said although the tribunal is registered at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, the court has no particular authority because it depends entirely on consensual proceedings.