From its part, USA considered the court’s sentence as binding and final; it also represents a huge contribution in resolving regional disputes knowing that Washington avoided taking sides in this case.
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“The EU will continue to speak out in support of upholding worldwide law, including when it comes to the United Nations conventions on the Law of the Sea”, Tusk said.
Philippine House Rep. Harry Roque, an worldwide law expert, said that if China resorts to force in the South China Sea, the Philippines can seek a vote of the U.N. General Assembly – not the Security Council, where China has veto powers – authorizing sanctions against Beijing. In its statement, the ministry pointed out Thailand’s desire to see peace, stability and development in the South China Sea and its wish for all issues in the area to be addressed through talks based on confidence and trust.
In this photo taken March 29, 2014, a Philippine flag flutters from the deck of the Philippine Navy ship LT 57 Sierra Madre off Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
Aside from stating that China’s historical rights were without “legal basis”, the tribunal ruled that its artificial island building and the blocking of Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal were unlawful.
This tough approach can send a message to other countries that suing China at The Hague’s “illegal tribunal” will only lead to a tougher response from Beijing, Song said, adding that tensions in the disputed waters will rise, and China should prepare for the worst. “It will certainly intensify conflicts and even confrontation”, ambassador Cui Tiankai said.
China: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said on Wednesday that, China has the right to set up an air defense zone in the South China Sea, but this will depend on the level of threats faced. The waters in the “nine-dash line” include the exclusive territory of Brunei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, though Indonesia does not claim any land formations within the territory in question.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s claim over the Spratly Islands and their surrounding waters has been gravely damaged by a ruling from an global tribunal, and that Taiwan is dispatching a warship to patrol the area to defend its rights.
In a statement released at 5:35 pm, a spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Le Hai Binh, said Vietnam welcomed the arbitral tribunal’s ruling earlier the same day, adding that the Southeast Asian country would release a separate statement concerning the decision.
But how many countries are clearly supporting China against the tribunal’s ruling?
China has also in recent years built giant artificial islands capable of hosting military installations and airstrips in the Spratlys archipelago, one of the biggest groups of features in the sea. “That’s a very strong motivator for their actions in the South China Sea”.
“We can not expect, you know, a sudden upsurge of unity among claimant countries to sort of gang up on China”, said Wilfrido Villacorta a Manila-based analyst who had served as ASEAN’s deputy secretary-general.
“For the China Daily map, please ask the newspaper”, the foreign ministry said.
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On the one hand, China has remained consistent in its rejection of the jurisdictional competence of the PCA on this subject, insisting that the only solution to the imbroglio lies in bilateral negotiations between the Philippines and the People’s Republic.
