Chinese Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan said China will not accept any proposition or action based on the decision by the arbitral tribunal and that it has the right to declare a unilateral air-defence zone over the strategic South China Sea.
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Beijing called the Philippines’ claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea “baseless” and an “act of bad faith”.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said that over the next few days, the government will take steps to ensure that the tribunal’s ruling is “peacefully implemented”.
A white paper – “China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea” – has been published following a ruling in an arbitration case initiated by the Philippines that said China had no “historic title” over the sea.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, said China’s “territorial sovereignty and marine rights” in the seas would not be affected by the ruling and insisted China was still “committed to resolving disputes” with its neighbors.
Liu told reporters that Beijing is considering establishing an ADIZ over the region it claims, which would require all aircraft entering the zone to identify itself to Beijing before passing through.
The worldwide court held China accountable for violating the Philippines’ right over its exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf as stipulated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
A defiant China today successfully tested two new airfields in the disputed islands in the South China Sea, a day after an global tribunal struck down Beijing claims over the area.
To further discuss the South China Sea arbitration results, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Brendan Mulvaney, senior non-resident fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
China, which claims nearly all of the South China Sea, has said the summit is “not a suitable place to discuss” the issue.
The tribunal ruled China’s claimed historical rights and nine-dash map had no legal basis.
China is also building its fifth lighthouse on the Sprtalys, at a time when the Philippines and other United States allies have been expressing alarm over its maritime expansion in the sea, which they suspect is aimed at extending its military reach.
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It will also be the first meeting in which the new Philippine government of President Rodrigo Duterte will be represented on the world stage. Taiwan – another loser in the verdict because it has similar claims to China – deployed a warship to protect its interests. China has been on a charm offensive and Duterte is navigating a tightrope in which he wants to revive relations with Beijing while being seen as defending the major victory the country won through arbitration.
