Beijing’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei told a news conference on 6 July: “China will never accept nor recognise whatever ruling the arbitral tribunal may produce”.
Advertisement
In the call initiated by Kerry, Wang “urged the United States to honor its commitment to not to take sides on issues related to sovereign disputes, to be prudent with its actions and words, and not to take any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of China”, Xinhua said.
On Wednesday, China’s former top diplomat, Dai Bingguo, cautioned the USA against “heavy-handed” intervention in the South China Sea, adding that Beijing will not heed the ruling as it would be “nothing more than a piece of waste paper”.
She also vowed that China would counter any actions threatening its sovereignty and security in the region. Gary Ross said, “the United Sates will abide by established global standards as highlighted in our confidence building measure, and expect China to do the same”. Meanwhile, China has said that does not recognize the jurisdiction of the tribunal and maintains that it has “indisputable sovereignty’ over the region. But the U.S. could use it to impose more pressure on China, causing more tensions in the South China Sea (SCS)”, the editorial said.
The Philippines has asked the court to rule on several issues, including China’s controversial “nine-dash line” – a boundary that carves out the majority of the South China Sea for itself.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that Kerry had spoken to Wang, without providing details.
The United States Navy has quietly been patrolling the waters around Chinese man-made islands in the South China Sea, the Navy Times reports.
Days before the Permanent Court of Arbitration decides on the case, an independent think tank said a decision favorable to the Philippines on the South China Sea will strengthen a non-military scenario and pave the way toward further diplomacy.
Chinese people, he highlighted, came to know the islands now at odds in the South China Sea as early as in China’s Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and have ruled them since ancient times, long before the UNCLOS, which was signed in 1982.
During his talks with Ban, Xi said that China supports political resolution of worldwide hot spot issues and encourages dialogue and negotiations, state-run china.Org.Cn reported.
Kerry said the United States understands that China has its own stance on the arbitration. He did say, “All of these patrols are conducted in accordance with worldwide law and all are consistent with routine Pacific Fleet presence throughout the Western Pacific”.
Manila argues that the land formations China claims in the South China Sea are nothing more than reefs and therefore not entitled to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones, which buttresses Beijing’s insistence that it has sovereignty over the waters.
The first four involve Beijing issuing a statement condemning the ruling and expanding military exercises in the region.
Advertisement
Beijing’s territorial claims to the islands partly overlap those of the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan, while Beijing also has ongoing territorial disputes in the area with Malaysia and Brunei.
