An worldwide tribunal has ruled that it has the power to hear the Philippines’ case against China’s claims over almost all of the South China Sea, a move analysts say will likely force Beijing to dig in deeper instead of sitting down to talk.
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On Friday its Foreign Ministry declared that the ruling on jurisdiction was “null and void” and would have no binding effect on China.
The Philippines had filed a complaint in January 2013 against Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
It added China’s decision not to participate in the proceedings did not deprive the tribunal of jurisdiction and that the Philippine submission of its petition to commence arbitration unilaterally did not constitute an abuse of its dispute settlement procedures.
On Tuesday, the destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12-nautical miles limits of Subi Reef, which is part of a series of artificial islands built by China.
Malcolm Cook, senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said that outside of China, many maritime law experts feel the Philippines has a strong case and are skeptical of the legal basis for China’s expansive claims, which it says are rooted in history.
Wu also warned that China will “have to take all necessary measures to safeguard sovereignty and security” if the United States persists in the same manner and ignores concerns of China.
“This video call gives them an opportunity to frankly exchange ideas regarding the South China Sea”.
“What China has done thus far is to be incredibly vague about its claims”, said Sullivan. But the USA and other countries with claims in the South China Sea have noted that Beijing has constructed runways capable of supporting fighter jets and transport planes on the islands. The online comments, advocating retaliation, included: “attack”, “fight”, “sink it”, “down with American imperialism”, and, “finally the U.S.is giving us a reason to militarise the South China Sea”.
China, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines believes it has the right to develop natural gas resources and fish in the waters around the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) of world trade passes every year.
The USA and China have been engaged in a diplomatic tug of war over the South China Sea for the past few years, which escalated after it was revealed that China was “building islands” in the contested waters.
Wu said the USA should not force other countries to accept its proposal and must not infringe upon other country’s interests in the name of maintaining freedom of navigation.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on its website Wednesday that Executive Vice Minister Zhang Yesui told Max Baucus that the US had acted in defiance of repeated Chinese objections and had threatened China’s sovereignty and security.
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Liu said based on the Philippines’ presentation, its goal reportedly was not to resolve the dispute but to assert its own claims in the South China Sea and deny the rights of China to protect its sovereignty over the disputed waters.
