“The Philippines strongly affirms its respect for this milestone decision as an important contribution to ongoing efforts in addressing disputes in the South China Sea”, Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said in Manila, calling on “all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety”.
Advertisement
A tribunal ruled in a sweeping decision Tuesday that China has no legal basis for its extensive claims in the South China Sea and had aggravated the seething regional dispute with its large-scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands that destroyed coral reefs and the natural condition of the disputed areas.
“The award is null and void and has no binding force”, the ministry statement said.
1994: The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which the Philippines has taken China to arbitration, goes into effect after 60 countries ratify it. The agreement defines territorial waters, continental shelves and exclusive economic zones.
“Vietnam welcomes the arbitration court issuing its final ruling”, foreign ministry spokesman, Le Hai Binh, said in a statement. And the arbitration court has no right of jurisdiction.
But Chinese President Xi Jinping said earlier this month that Beijing would never compromise on sovereignty, adding: “We are not afraid of trouble”.
The tribunal stresses that China “caused severe harm to the coral reef environment and violated its obligation to preserve and protect fragile ecosystems and the habitat of depleted, threatened, or endangered species”. “The Tribunal further held that Chinese law-enforcement vessels had unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels”.
“A news anchor on state broadcaster CCTV read a brief comment from China’s state news agency, Xinhua, in which the ruling by the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, would not be accepted”.
The tribunal scores China for breaching the rights of fishermen from the Philippines which has traditional fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal.
Because China had no rights to the area as an exclusive economic zone, the tribunal found that some of its activities in the region were in breach of the Philippines’ sovereign rights.
China has previously stated that it “will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines”.
“Vietnam strongly supports the resolution of the disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means, including diplomatic and legal processes and and refraining from the use or threats to use force, in accordance with worldwide law”.
According to Al Jazeera, China asserts sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than United States dollars five trillion of world trade is shipped each year, despite rival claims from the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.
1947: China demarcates its South China Sea territorial claims with a U-shaped line made up of eleven dashes on a map, covering most of the area.
And Beijing conducted military drills in the South China Sea, deploying at least two guided missile destroyers, the Shenyang and Ningbo, and one missile frigate deployed.
Advertisement
Three demonstrators holding up banners shouted “China out of Philippine waters!” while rival protesters yelled in Chinese. The post followed online rumors that reservists in central Chinese provinces were called up for an unspecified mission from July 10 to July 22.
