A senior Chinese official says Beijing reserves the right to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone over the South China Sea, a move that would sharply escalate tensions in the disputed territory. The Obama administration said the decision would contribute to regional talks-while making clear the onus was on China to comply.
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“If our security is being threatened, of course we have the right to demarcate a zone”.
“It is our hope other countries don’t take the opportunity to threaten China”.
This was the USA reaction to the tribunal ruling in The Hague Tuesday, which brought victory to the Philippines – which filed the case three years ago – as well as other Southeast Asian countries involved in increasingly tense maritime disputes with Beijing.
Beijing can likely continue to resist such pressure with the help of dozens of countries-mostly smaller developing nations-that it says support its position, although only a handful of them have issued statements to that effect.
“I understand that the Chinese have made an argument that they’re not going to abide by it”.
At the same time, he said Beijing hoped to return to bilateral negotiations with Manila.
The UN-backed tribunal also said that any “historic rights” to resources in the waters of the South China Sea were “extinguished” when China signed up to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Some sea areas were therefore definitely in the Philippines’ EEZ, it said, as they were “not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China”.
Australia-a close USA ally-urged both the Philippines and China to abide by the ruling.
Former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario, who helped oversee the filing of the case, said the ruling underscored “our collective belief that right is might and that worldwide law is the great equaliser among states”.
“China’s been engaged in an aggressive and at-times bullying performance, and has now been called out by the global court”, Senator Conroy told Radio National this morning. The tribunal found mostly in favour of the Philippines’ claims. Several countries have reclaimed islands in the sea to stake their territorial claims.
It reflects the shifting balance of power in the 3.5 million square kilometre sea, where China has been expanding its presence by building artificial islands and dispatching patrol boats that keep Philippine fishing vessels away. Sovereignty over a rock only entitles the owner to a 12 nautical mile territorial sea.
In addition, with the development of the worldwide law of the sea, a maritime delimitation dispute also arose between the two states regarding certain sea areas of the South China Sea, it added.
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.
China has consistently said the tribunal does not have jurisdiction on the issue and Xinhua reported the ruling under the headline: “Law-abusing tribunal issues ill-founded award”.
The Spratlys are also claimed in part or whole by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Both the Philippines and Vietnam welcomed the tribunal’s decision. Some demonstrators in Manila staged a victory rally ahead of the ruling.
“China stands ready to work with the new Philippine government”, he said, adding that “early removal of obstacles posed by the arbitration case” would help improve relations.
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The Philippines’ unilateral initiation of arbitration was an “act of bad faith” it said, adding that China was committed to upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
