In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said: “Sea lanes of communication passing through South China Sea are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development”.
Advertisement
The South China Sea dispute involves both island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region: Brunei, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
A Hague arbitration tribunal’s decision rejecting China’s claims of “historic right” on South China Sea (SCS) was a “breathtaking and sweeping decision” and the parties concerned should abide by the ruling, an American expert on China said today.
However the tribunal, in The Hague, ruled China’s claimed historic rights to resources within the nine-dash map had no legal basis.
On Wednesday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said that Beijing would be within its rights to set up an air defence zone in the sea. He said China would consider an air defense zone that requires foreign aircraft to notify China before flying in designated areas, depending on perceived threats to China’s claims.
Taiwan’s government said the ruling was “completely unacceptable” and had no legally binding force since the arbitral tribunal did not formally invite Taipei to participate in its proceedings or solicit its views.
Ei Sun Oh, principal adviser of Malaysia-based think-tank Pacific Research Centre, also said that he does not rule out the possibility of Vietnam seeking a similar arbitration, emboldened by the favourable ruling the Philippines received. “It means that cooperation between the countries bordering the South China Sea in managing the ecosystems is still challenging”.
Beijing: A defiant China on Wednesday successfully tested two new airfields in the disputed islands in the South China Sea, a day after an global tribunal struck down Beijing claims over the area.
“This is a blanket call for quiet, not some attempt to rally the region against China, which would play into a false narrative that the U.S.is leading a coalition to contain China”, the official added.
China’s Ministry of Defence stated earlier that the ruling would not affect China’s sovereignty and interests in the South China Sea.
U.S. diplomatic, military and intelligence officers told Reuters that China’s reaction to the court’s decision would largely determine how other claimants, as well as the USA, respond.
To further discuss the South China Sea arbitration results, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Brendan Mulvaney, senior non-resident fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
During the meeting, China stepped up pressure on Laos and Cambodia to refrain from agreeing to an ASEAN joint statement that expressed “serious concern” over the rising tension in the South China Sea.
Advertisement
The fact remains that China did not accept jurisdiction of the tribunal from its very beginning and boycotted its proceedings and it is understood that findings of the tribunal were unilateral.
