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The China Daily reported Thursday that the new runways cut travel time from China’s southern Hainan Island to the reefs – a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) – from 30 hours by sea to 2 hours by air.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said if anyone challenged China’s interests with provocative actions, “China will surely make a resolute response”.
Reacting to India’s call for parties involved in disputes in the South China Sea to abide by global law to ensure calm in the region, the Chinese foreign ministry said it agreed with the opinion.
The Philippines’ relevant claim is groundless from the perspectives of either history or worldwide law, said the white paper issued by the State Council Information Office.
Although China has repeatedly said it is not going to participate nor honor the decision of the court, law experts say this is going to bring the Philippines in an advantageous position.
The EU has “full confidence” in the arbitration panel and its procedures, Tusk told reporters.
There was therefore no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the “nine-dash line”, the court said.
China refuses to accept the tribunal’s authority to rule on the dispute over the strategically vital region, and has already held several naval drills between the Paracels and the southern Chinese island of Hainan in recent days.
It attacked the Philippines for turning “a blind eye to bilateral consensus”, saying Manila has repeatedly taken moves that complicate the relevant disputes, gradually intensified them between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. China’s junior foreign minister Liu Zhenmin signalled harsh measures if it did not have its way in the dispute.
He is open to direct talks with China aimed at achieving a long-awaited code of conduct among rival claimants for the sea. The decision will depend on the type of threat China faces.
He says, “If our security is being threatened, of course we have the right to demarcate a zone”.
China’s strongly-worded reactions comes just a day after an worldwide tribunal rejected the country’s claim over a vast expanse of the strategic South China Sea, ruling that Beijing had no “legal” or “historic” claim over the waters.
In government paper on the tribunal’s findings which was released on Wednesday, China reiterated its claims over the land and maritime territory.
He said the ruling was only a platform that the government can use to assert its sovereign rights over the disputed islands.
The dispute over the South China Sea involves the Spratly and the Paracel Islands. “It is final and legally binding on both of them”, Bishop told national broadcaster ABC. “There would be strong reputational costs”.
She said Australian ships and aircraft would continue to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight rights but refused to comment on specific details.
Beijing: A defiant China on Wednesday successfully tested two new airfields in the disputed islands in the South China Sea, a day after an worldwide tribunal struck down Beijing claims over the area.
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The United States should be willing to use military force to oppose Chinese aggression at a disputed reef off the coast of the Philippines, a former commander of US forces in the Pacific told a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
