“Just as anticipated, the South China Sea arbitral tribunal in The Hague delivered an outrageously one-sided ruling in the case initiated by the Philippines”, reads an editorial in the state-managed China Daily.
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The Philippines brought an global arbitration case over China’s growing assertiveness, resulting in this week’s thorough repudiation of Beijing by the Hague tribunal, which said Chinese claims had no legal basis.
Malaysia is fully committed and calls on all parties to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety.
In a statement, it said Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay would raise the issue at a major two-day Asia-Europe summit starting on Friday, attended by China’s Premier Li Keqiang.
China has vowed to ignore the ruling.
Malaysia can play a key role in triggering diplomatic talks between China and the countries keen on resolving the disputes in the South China Sea, according to Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) College of Law, Government and International Studies Dean, Assoc. Prof Dr Ahmad Martadha Mohamed.
Yasay will represent newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte at ASEM.
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.
It justifies its sovereignty claims by saying it was the first to have discovered, named and exploited the sea, and outlines its claims for most of the waterway using a vague map made up of nine dashes that emerged in the 1940s.
It said China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights and caused “severe harm to the coral reef environment” by building artificial islands.
He also said China may introduce an air defence zone over the sea, which would give its military authority over foreign aircraft, depending on the “threat” level.
China urged Australia not to regard the violation of the global law as worldwide law itself, Lu said.
Taiwan, which has a very similar claim to the waters as China, sent a warship into the waters on Wednesday to protect its interests.
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While the Philippines is still crowing about their “victory” in the South China Sea Tribunal hearing at the Hague, with China today insisting they don’t consider the Tribunal to mean anything, and that they intend to defend their claims in the South China Sea the same as before.
