On Tuesday, the United States said it “strongly supported” the ruling on the South China Sea dispute, stressing that “the Tribunal unanimously found that the Philippines was acting within its rights under the Convention in initiating this arbitration”.
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She added that Beijing risked reputational harm if it ignored the ruling.
The Philippines’ unilateral initiation of arbitration on the South China Sea dispute risks undermining the peace and stability of ASEAN, a Chinese expert has said.
Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan challenged China’s claims.
In another development on Wednesday, two Chinese civilian aircraft landed at two new airports on reefs controlled by China in the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, the Philippines urged Beijing on Thursday to respect the Hague’s ruling and said it would raise the issue at a regional summit.
“Do not turn the South China Sea into a cradle of war”, Liu said, describing the ruling by a tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday as waste paper.
The tribunal also declared that China had acted unlawfully by violating the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone – waters extending 200 nautical miles from the Filipino coast.
Replying to reporters’ queries about Vietnam’s response to the arbitration tribunal’s issuance of its final ruling on the lawsuit, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh said: “Vietnam welcomes the issuance of the final ruling on July 12 and will issue a statement on the ruling’s content”.
Should the US’s efforts at diplomacy fail, a defense official on Wednesday said that U.S. air and naval forces were ready to protect freedom of movement in the South China Sea.
The Washington Post looks at the significance of the South China Sea ruling and its significance for the world.
“China’s Internet users have vented anger at the ruling, some even calling for war against the USA and the Philippines”, Anthony reports.
In 2014, China launched massive island-building efforts in the Nansha – or Spratly – Islands, buttressing claims to the territory.
Duterte, who took office on June 30, has said he wants better relations with China and to attract Chinese investment for major infrastructure projects.
China said on Thursday it had issued a formal protest after Australia announced it would continue to exercise its right to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea following a court ruling against China’s claims.
“While China upholds its historical rights, we respect the [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] and should defend our de facto occupation of the island [Itu Aba]”, Lo said, asking the ministry to pay extra attention when responding to China’s calls.
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China in a 13,900-word white paper rebuffed the United Nations tribunal’s verdict and called it “a piece of paper that is destined to come to naught”, reports the Guardian.
