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Beijing should be denied access to islands it has built in the disputed South China Sea, according to Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. He did not elaborate on how exactly Beijing might be blocked from the artificial islands (RT).
Questions:
Sovereignty is the term for one state being able to govern a piece of territory. The United Nations has no process in place for determining who has sovereignty over some territory.
The General Assembly may adopt a resolution supporting a state's ability to govern a territory (which can be vetoed), but it is not entirely binding. Similarly, the International Court of Justice can be asked to make a decision regarding the sovereignty over some territory, but that requires both parties to submit to the ruling.
In this sense, it really doesn't matter that China is on the Security Council. Additionally, it is counter-balanced by the presence of the United States, who could veto any similar claim by China.
So how is sovereignty determined? The most important concept is reciprocity. A state is sovereign over some territory when other states recognize its sovereignty. For example, if other states seek permission from the United States enter the border around the island, or land there, then they are recognizing the United States' sovereignty over that land (and not China's).
Additionally, there are some other things to look for when determining who is sovereign in some territory. These are less important than reciprocity.
If you would like a short primer on sovereignty, this document by National Unity Government seems pretty good. I'm not familiar with this organization, but the content matches what I covered in my international law coursework (in an American university in the early 2010's). You could ignore the section on Aboriginal rights.
If you are interested in a very long article about sovereignty, try the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article.
Altough "international laws" are a fuzzy concept, an international tribual of the International Court of Justice in The Hague did rule that China's claims have no legal basis. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-hague-ruling-philippines.html That's as close to a clear answer in "international law" as one can get I suppose.
China has veto in the UN Security Council, not the entire UN. However even if the Security Council were to rule that China could not build on the islands, China would likely ignore the Security Council ruling just as it is ignoring (other than to condemn) the decision of the International Court of Justice. American cannot "ban" China from the islands through international law.
Other ways to keep China away from the islands would be necessary. Typical tools in this kind of situation are military force and economic sanctions or other economic pressure, However China has a strong enough military at this point that other countries, including America, are unlikely to want to force the issue. Similarly the Chinese economy is large enough that attempts to apply economic pressure are unlikely to succeed.
Unless American leadership is very creative it is unlikely that America will be able to dislodge China from the islands.
