The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has said it will deliver its verdict on a dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea later on Tuesday.
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The global tribunal’s ruling against China in its dispute with Philippines related to the South China Sea was a “rebuke” to Beijing, a United States expert said on Wednesday and noted that it was also an opportunity for better negotiations between the parties concerned. The court basically declared China’s position in the region as illegal and violates some of South East Asian countries’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the Philippines’.
A day after rejecting the ruling by an worldwide tribunal denying China’s rights over South China Sea, Taiwan on Wednesday sent a warship to patrol the disputed region.
Li Jie, a Chinese expert on the matter, said Beijing is mulling its options in the wake of the court rulings.
The tribunal ruled China’s claimed historical rights and nine-dash map had no legal basis. China’s foreign ministry said it “neither accepts nor recognises” the ruling, saying it is “null and void and has no binding force”.
China was “the first to have discovered, named, and explored and exploited” islands in the sea and their surrounding waters, the document said.
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. Defiance and strong nationalistic overtones resonated in Wednesday’s front-paged commentary in the People’s Daily, the flagship of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
A military build-up in the sea continues.
He said Wednesday that he hoped the ruling would now be used “to create a positive momentum in finding a solution to the dispute in the South China Sea”. At the same time, China has been building islands in the region and enforcing territorial control over portions of the sea around them.
Philippines Wins Maritime Case: China DefiantIsland in the South China sea.
He said that the USA statement also went against its declaration of not taking sides on issues concerning territorial disputes.
AFP reports on all the reactions to the verdict of the worldwide tribunal.
The World Weekly covered the outcome of the tribunal on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s President vowed to defend its sovereignty over Taiping Island.
Indonesia outlined its self-defence plan after the ruling.
China rejected the decision describing it as fictitious and that it may act more aggressively after this to maintain its sovereignty and maritime interests.
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Why is the South China Sea important?
