Now that the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration has clearly rejected China’s expansive claims to the entire West Philippine Sea, Aquino said the ruling “establishes better conditions that enable countries to engage each other, bearing in mind their duties and rights within a context that espouses equality and amity”.
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“Japan strongly expects that the parties’ compliance with this award will eventually lead to the peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea”, Kishida emphasized.
An worldwide ruling striking down China’s claims to most of the South China Sea was chiefly a victory for the Philippines, which launched the David vs Goliath legal challenge. The court also said “there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control” over the resources and waters.
According to Beijing, most of the South China Sea, including the waters approaching neighboring countries, is part of its sovereign territory, backing up its arguments with Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called nine-dash line.
The Coast Guard officers stationed there have received the same combat training as Marines, Cheng said during the hearing in the Legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, said China’s “territorial sovereignty and marine rights” in the seas would not be affected by the ruling and insisted China was still “committed to resolving disputes” with its neighbors.
The global court held China accountable for violating the Philippines’ right over its exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf as stipulated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Asserting that it “does not accept and does not recognise” the ruling, China has rejected the verdict as “null and void”.
Should the US’s efforts at diplomacy fail, a defense official on Wednesday said that United States air and naval forces were ready to protect freedom of movement in the South China Sea.
“China’s lack of participation in the process and outright rejection of the ruling, even before it was made, is particularly concerning”.
The Philippines brought the case to The Hague.
First, we should not forget that for China and other claimants the issue of sovereignty is at the heart of the South China Sea disputes. Relations between Beijing and Manila plummeted over the row.
Mr Li repeated China’s stance that the South China Sea issue should be solved through bilateral negotiations by relevant parties “on the basis of historical facts and in accordance with worldwide law”, Xinhua added.
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But Beijing also extended an olive branch to the new Philippine government, saying the Southeast Asian nation would benefit from cooperating with China.
