As The Hague Tribunal rejected China’s claims to the historic rights in the South China Sea, Beijing announced the commissioning of its fourth guided-missile destroyer and warned that it could set up an air defence zone over the disputed area, the Russia Today channel reported.
Advertisement
China has overlapping claims with other countries to reefs and islands across nearly all of the South China Sea.
“What Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said this morning was that the Arbitral Tribunal was not an worldwide tribunal and had nothing to do with the UN-affiliated global Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague”, the Chinese spokesperson said.
“China will take all necessary measures to protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily said in a front page commentary Wednesday.
The Philippines brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, objecting to China’s claims to maritime rights in the disputed waters.
China says even if its claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea isn’t recognized, it still reserves the right to establish an air defense zone. China had set up an ADIZ over the East China Sea in 2013, prompting angry reactions from the United States and Japan, though the zone was not fully enforced.
Beijing’s ambassador to the United States earlier blamed the rise in tension in the region on the United States’ recent “pivot” towards Asia.
In his first comments immediately after the ruling, Yasay said the Philippines welcomed the decision but he did not urge China to respect or abide by it.
The Philippines built military facilities on some islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Qundao (the Nansha Islands/Spratly islands) it has invaded and illegally occupied.
Tsai noted that the routine patrol was being launched a day ahead of schedule and said that its significance was unlike that of any previous mission, saying the situation in the South China Sea had changed on Tuesday.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Thursday that “if anyone challenges China’s rights and interests by taking provocative actions” based on the ruling, “China will surely make a resolute response”.
It found some of the area claimed rightly belongs to the Philippines who sovereign rights were infringed upon by China use of artificial islands.
He said only four of the 10 member countries of the regional bloc were claimants in the dispute and questioned the relevance of the issue to the majority of the organization.
Those claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Advertisement
Several US administration officials said the US wants to “quiet things down so these issues can be addressed rationally instead of emotionally”.
