The award issued by it will not have any effect on China’s existing policy, he said.
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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.
China rejected the ruling, having declined to participate in the case saying the court had no jurisdiction.
China claims almost all of the sea – which is of enormous military importance and through which about $5 trillion worth of shipping trade passes annually – even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.
America responded by sending two B52 bombers through the ADIZ, without identifying themselves to China.
Meanwhile, Senior Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the European Union calls on all parties to respect legal decisions and uphold the UNCLOS, including navigational freedom.
“In that spirit, Vietnam strongly supports settling disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures, including diplomatic and legal processes without the use or threat to use force, as is in line with the regulations of global law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, maintaining peace and stability in the region, security, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight of the East Sea, and respecting the law-abiding principle in seas and oceans”, Binh said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had formally protested against Australia’s “wrong remarks”, and that China hopes Australia does nothing to harm regional peace and stability.
China justifies its claims by saying it was the first to have discovered, named and exploited the sea, and outlines its territory using a vague map made up of nine dashes that emerged in the 1940s.
It 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.
As well as declaring that China’s historic claims had no legal standing, the court also denounced the environmental damage inflicted by Beijing’s programme of creating artificial islands in the area, which have destroyed coral reefs and disrupted fishing and oil exploration.
Asked on Thursday by reporters what Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s message to his ministers was in a cabinet meeting immediately after Tuesday’s ruling was delivered, Budget Secretary Benjamin Dioko answered, quoting Mr Duterte. Mr Duterte, who took office on June 30, had said he wanted better relations with China and to attract Chinese investment for major infrastructure projects.
Unlike the former president, Mr Duterte has said he wants to talk directly with China over the issue.
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Beijing also wants to negotiate, but at the same time insists it will never concede on sovereignty.
