It described the ruling as a “piece of waste paper”.
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He stressed that “no matter what country or person applies pressure”, China will push forward and complete island construction as planned. China argues that the court has no jurisdiction and refuses to accept the ruling…so the two admirals have a great deal to talk about, including whether China will act to reinforce its claims?
“They said that if you will insist on the ruling and discussing it along those lines, then we might be headed for a confrontation”, he said.
“Japan is not a state directly involved in the South China Sea issue, and thus should exercise caution in its own words and deeds, and stop hyping up and interfering”, Li said, according to Xinhua.
Navy chief Adm. Wu Shengli told his visiting United States counterpart, Adm. John Richardson, that construction work in areas disputed by other countries will proceed, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Can contemporary global law resolve this ancient problem?” It calls for bilateral negotiation instead.
Manila wanted to enforce the points of the complex ruling step-by-step but as a priority had asked China to let its fishermen go to the Scarborough Shoal without being harassed by its coastguard, Yasay said.
Footage showed the Filipino boat being tailed by a white Chinese coast guard ship and Chinese personnel using a bullhorn to order the Filipinos to leave “this area immediately”.
State news agency Xinhua quoted a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force as saying Monday that a recent patrol would become “regular” practice. Chinese media also reported the first civilian flights to Mischief Reef, (Panganiban Reef in the Philippines) and Subi Reef (Zamora Reef in the Philippines), two of the three locations where Beijing constructed airfields.
According to the China Securities Journal, Beijing would build 20 offshore nuclear platforms in the South China Sea, some islands of which the PCA said belongs to the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, reported Reuters.
Yasay’s account of the meeting highlights the challenge ahead for the Philippines, a USA ally, in getting China to comply with the decision which has ramped up tensions in the vital trade route.
Almost a week after losing its territorial claims in the South China Sea, China is closing part of the region for military exercises this week.
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The South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, believed to be sitting atop huge oil and gas deposits, but Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also consider some of the region’s waters, islands and reefs to be their territory. The comments are seen as a warning to the USA, which has conducted such patrols close to the Chinese-held islands over the past year. The South China Sea is a strategic maritime crossroad for global freight. A week ago, an global court rejected China’s claim to the area.
