China hits out at Philippine action
Print Edition
CHINA will not accept international arbitration filed by the Philippines on the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement yesterday.
He said China is urging the Philippines to stick to their consensus and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and return to the path of bilateral talks to resolve any dispute.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Manila had filed the plea before a UN arbitration tribunal to declare China’s claims over the waters as a “violation of international law.”
The Philippines announced last year that it would ask the United Nations to declare China’s claims over the area illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The tribunal had given Manila until yesterday to submit its legal brief.
Hong said China had indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters in the South China Sea.
China had always adhered to direct bilateral negotiations with relevant countries to solve sovereignty disputes over islands and maritime demarcation, Hong said.
He said this position was in line with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by China and the ASEAN nations as well as the consensus reached by China and the Philippines.
He urged the Philippines to fully implement the consensus repeatedly confirmed by both sides and come back to the track of bilateral negotiations.
The direct cause of the disputes between China and the Philippines was that the Philippines illegally occupied some Chinese islets, Hong said.
Hong said that China had made a statement in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2006, pointing out that relevant disputes do not apply to arbitration procedure.
China’s stance is in full compliance with international law, he said.
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