The Philippines has said that Beijing should respect an worldwide tribunal’s ruling that rejected Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea, adding that it will raise the issue at a regional summit.
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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.
“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; and the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) as agreed between China and Asean countries”. The Chinese government published a white paper on the same day in which it once again stressed that the sovereignty claims of the Philippines are groundless.
Taiwan’s government has rejected the ruling by arbitral tribunal as “completely unacceptable” and said it is not legally binding since the arbitral tribunal did not formally invite Taipei to participate in its proceedings or solicit its views.
“If our security is being threatened, of course we have the right to demarcate a zone”, he said.
Tensions could escalate as China refuses to recognize the court decision.
In this February 27, 2015, photo, provided by Filipino fisherman Renato Etac, Chinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Philippines finally won the case against China over a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
“China will respond with fury, certainly in terms of rhetoric and possibly through more aggressive actions at sea”, he said.
The ruling Communist Party of China pledged today on the front of its official People’s Daily newspaper to defy the findings of the tribunal.
India’s reaction came after the tribunal ruled that China has no legal basis to its claims of “historic rights” to islands in South China Sea, through which Dollars 3 trillion passes in trade annually. The court ruled unanimously that China has no historical rights to landmasses or territorial waters in the region and noted the severe environmental damage caused by Chinese reclamation activities.
Besides the Philippines, China is locked in bitter disputes in the South China Sea with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. He was referring to the United States and several European countries that want China to uphold the verdict. The ruling was also a victory for other claimants in their decades-long disputes with China over the resource-rich waters. “Those who encroach on our China’s territory will die no matter how far away they are”.
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As the largest coastal state in the South China Sea, China respects the freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea to which all countries are entitled under global law, Lu said.
