China has rejected this week’s ruling by the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague that it has no historical title over the South China Sea and it had violated the Philippines’ economic and sovereign rights.
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China refused to recognise the jurisdiction of The Hague tribunal, and has also refused to accept the award.
The arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Aquino III (former President of Philippines) government violates worldwide law and is a political farce under the cloak of law. He has not commented on the arbitration ruling but described the territorial disputes as a complicated issue that may affect the country’s ties with treaty ally the United States and the Philippine economy.
“Including the airport on the Yong shu Reef opened in January, China now has three functioning airports on the Nansha Islands, which lie under one of the world’ s busiest airspaces”, it said.
Thu Minh, a local singer with over two million followers, said that the two archipelagos “are of Vietnam ever after”.
An global tribunal made a landmark ruling Tuesday rejecting China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, handing the Philippines a victory and dealing a blow to Beijing.
Some analysts speculate that China could try to escalate the dispute to punish Manila for pursuing the case and deter other claimants from doing the same.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly hopes to hold negotiations with China in a bid to solve the issue.
The Philippines’ credit rating will not be directly affected by the maritime dispute with economic powerhouse China, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.
China risks a risky escalation unless it stops construction in South China Sea, a leading American daily warned Thursday after Beijing rejected a UN-backed tribunal’s ruling that struck down Beijing’s claims over the disputed areas.
“Australia stands with the worldwide community in calling for both sides to treat the arbitral ruling as final and binding”, she said. It is crucial that Duterte carries on his predecessor Benigno Aquino’s policy to work with Japan and the United States for the stability of the South China Sea.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including reefs and islands also claimed by others. Answering another question on Mischief reef, called in Chinese Meji reef in the SCS which was awarded to the Philippines by the tribunal, Lu said, “If any one wants to take any provocative action against China’s security interest based on the award China will take a decisive response”. We hope the Philippine president will keep this in mind.
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Asean members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, have competing claims to parts of the resource-rich sea.
