On July 23, 2020, Australia submitted a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations stating its position regarding China and the South China Sea. The submission states that, “[t]he Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).” The submission refers to and disputes several arguments made by China in previous submissions. Regarding “China’s claim to ‘historic rights’ or ‘maritime rights and interests’” Australia reiterates that “[t]he Tribunal in the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award found these claims to be inconsistent with UNCLOS.” Citing Articles 5, 7 and 47 of UNCLOS, Australia asserted that straight baselines should only be drawn “in certain circumstances” and that, as a result, “[t]here is no legal basis for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea.” Citing Articles 121 and 60 of UNCLOS, regarding islands and artificial islands respectively, the submission states that “China’s claims to maritime zones generated by submerged features, or low tide elevations” are unfounded. Additionally, the submission disputes “China’s assertion … that its sovereignty claims over the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands are ‘widely recognized by the international community’” and “that it is not bound by the [2016] Arbitral Award.” A JURIST article reports that Australia’s submission “align[s] … [Australia] with several other States including the United States and India which had earlier this month also rejected China’s claims.”