Tribunal ruling ‘a political farce’
Print Edition
CHINA neither accepts nor recognizes the ruling of a tribunal in The Hague in a South China Sea arbitration case established at the request of the Philippines.
President Xi Jinping said China will not accept any proposition or action based on the ruling, adding that China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea, under any circumstances, will not be affected.
Xi made the remarks while meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Beijing yesterday.
“The award is null and void and has no binding force,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the ruling.
In a press release accompanying its 479-page ruling, the five-member tribunal offered a summary of its decisions, which side with claims filed by the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the arbitration as a “political farce under the pretext of law.”
The unilateral initiation of arbitration by the Philippines aims not to resolve disputes between China and the Philippines, or to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, but to deny China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the foreign ministry statement said.
It said the tribunal’s conduct and its ruling seriously contravened the general practice of international arbitration, deviated from the object and purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to promote peaceful settlement of disputes, substantially impaired the integrity and authority of UNCLOS, gravely infringed upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS, and were unjust and unlawful.
“China has territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea,” said a separate statement issued by the Chinese government.
China is always firmly opposed to the invasion and illegal occupation by certain states of some islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Islands, and activities infringing upon China’s rights and interests in relevant maritime areas under China’s jurisdiction, the statement said.
China stands ready to continue to resolve relevant disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation with states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law, it said.
“China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed by all states under international law in the South China Sea, and stays ready to work with other coastal states and the international community to ensure the safety of and the unimpeded access to the international shipping lanes in the South China Sea,” the statement added.
The foreign ministry statement said: “The Chinese government reiterates that, regarding territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes, China does not accept any means of third party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China.”
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