An international tribunal ruled on Tuesday against China's claims it had "historical rights" in the South China Sea in a bitter dispute that risks further stoking regional tensions.

Manila ─ which had lodged the suit against Beijing ─ welcomed the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) but Beijing reacted furiously, saying it "neither accepts nor recognises" the ruling.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, even waters approaching neighbouring countries, as its sovereign territory, basing its arguments on Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called nine-dash line.

"The tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," the Hague-based PCA said in its hard-hitting ruling.

It said Beijing had no historic rights to resources in South China Sea waters and that such rights were "extinguished" as being incompatible with exclusive economic zones provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNClos), to which both countries are signatories.

"China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone by interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, by constructing artificial islands and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone," the PCA added.

The tribunal further ruled that the disputed Spratly islands "cannot generate maritime zones collectively as a unit" as claimed by China.