Chinese missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in the waters near south China's Hainan Island and Paracel Islands, controlled by Beijing but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

The defiant nation has not only been making strategic moves in the South China Sea to stake its claim, it has launched an English-language PR campaign featuring adverts, newspaper editorials and dodgy rap videos.

The odd, ungrammatical lyrics in the music video created by China’s Communist Youth League include: “The power of the Chinese people in China are gradually proving / That we can make a better world as we love peace and harmony.”

They also declare, rather unconvincingly: “We don’t wanna be disputants.”

The case brought to the court of arbitration by the Philippines contests China’s rapid development of artificial islands fortified with military equipment in Spratly Islands in the vital shipping lane.

Six different southeast Asian countries lay claim to parts of this important trade route, but China has already declared it will take no notice of the ruling on the region demarcated by the “nine-dash line”, which encompasses the Spratly, Paracel and Pratas Islands and the Scarborough Shoal.

The communist nation, known for its state-controlled media, has been publishing editorials in major news outlets worldwide protesting its innocence and attacking the United States for its involvement in the dispute.

It has also blanketed social media with posts about the government’s position.

The People’s Daily, Beijing’s official mouthpiece, wrote on July 8: “The case, from the very beginning, is a trap set by the US to maintain its dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. One of its real purposes is to alienate China and its neighbours by defaming China in the name of international law.”

The newspaper has released 10 English-language videos on YouTube featuring academics backing the government’s view of the tensions.

China Central Television, the leading state broadcaster, also produced videos explaining the government’s position, one of them an online animation called Who is stirring up trouble in the South China Sea?

The stylishly produced cartoon, aimed squarely at gen Y, asks: “Do you want to buy the most fashionable clothes or electronic devices with state of the art technology? You’d better pray for the peace and safety of the ocean.”

This has been going on for some time. Even back in the 1970s and 1980s, soldiers were dying in clashes between Vietnam and China over the Paracel Islands, in what the Vietnamese call the East Sea.

In February, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, called on the US to “stop sensationalising the South China Sea issue, stop hyping up tensions and work constructively for regional peace and stability.”

On June 17, the state-run Xinhua News Agency wrote in an editorial: “Uncle Sam and its friends are good at staging biased media publicity campaigns, confusing different concepts and applying double standards. The farce, led by the US and supported by its allies, was intentioned to make China the scapegoat for the tense situation in the South China Sea region.”

Earlier in the month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei claimed that at least 60 countries backed China’s position in the Philippines case, although not all of these nations have voiced their support.

And just yesterday, Chinese state media published stories about a fifth Chinese lighthouse that will soon be built in the South China Sea, which it says is for the “public good”, not to increase its own power in the region.

Since the Philippines lodged its case three years ago, the Chinese are thought to have built at least 3200 acres of new land in the shipping lane’s Spratly archipelago, according to the US Department of Defense.

China is holding a week of military drills around the disputed islands ahead of a ruling by an international tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China’s claim to most of the South China Sea. Picture: Zha ChunmingSource:AP

China is boycotting the case before The Hague-based court and says it will not accept the verdict. Picture: Zha ChunmingSource:AP

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in the Netherlands will hand down its landmark ruling tonight.Source:AP

Filipino fishermen are ready to set sail into the South China Sea in protest at China’s territorial claim over the disputed Spratly Islands group in what they call the West Philippine Sea. Picture: Jes AznarSource:Getty Images

The US, which has been patrolling the sea with ships and aircraft on “freedom-of-navigation exercises”, says it is neutral on the claims, although it has a security pact with the Philippines.

But Amercia has urged Beijing to respect the tribunal’s ruling and on July 7, the Twitter account of the US Pacific Command quoted a Forbes column in a tweet: “You have to hand it to China … they can analyse a situation, that they actually created, and turn it completely around and play the victim.”

China is in a precarious position. It needs to prove its man-made islands qualify as exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which give governments the right to all natural resources found within 200 nautical miles.

But EEZs are defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as naturally formed islands that can sustain human or economic life.

If the artificial reefs decked out with runways, radar and communications towers don’t qualify, China will lose its legal claim over much of the waterway rich in resources including oil, minerals and fish.

It is unlikely the nation’s aggressive publicity campaign will really affect international opinion on the South China Sea.

But it is also unclear what the tribunal will do to force China to obey its decision, should it decide to order the nation to cease its development of the region.

Kurt Campbell, who was assistant secretary of state for East Asia in the first Obama administration, warned in The Australian yesterday that China could respond with force if the ruling goes against them, organising naval patrols and building further military facilities in the Scarborough Shoals.

He said this would mean “negative consequences for everyone”, with nations including Australia depending upon this key trade route into Asia.

“The outrage and unhappiness in China will not be staged and it’s likely there will be some deployments and active steps taken,” he said.

“If they did this, it could plunge Asia into crisis.”

emma.reynolds@news.com.au