The tribunal, established at the request of the Philippines, ruled that it can take on the case over the South China Sea dispute.
"The result of the ruling will by no means affect China's sovereignty and rights on the South China Sea." Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said Friday in a media briefing.
China's sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea are grounded in history and protected under international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.
The statement also said that the Philippines' decision to seek arbitration was "a political provocation under the cloak of law."
"The motivation [behind] the arbitration is not to settle disputes, but an attempt to negate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea for its own sake." Liu said.
- He reiterated China's position of "non-acceptance and non-participation" in the proceedings.
Criticizing the Philippines for failing to adhere to its own commitment to settle disputes through negotiation and consultation, Liu said this was not the way to solve disputes.
On several occasions since the 1990s, China and the Philippines have agreed, and reaffirmed, that disputes would be resolved through negotiation and consultation.
"We will continue to approach disputes in this way, including with the Philippines, and to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea." Liu said.
Xinhua -china.org.cn
30/10/15
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The Philippines welcomed Friday a decision by an international tribunal in The Hague to hear a case filed against China over disputed parts of the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea...
ReplyDeleteThe ruling by the five judges of the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued Thursday, three months after the Philippine legal team argued its case in the Netherlands, enables the court to finally proceed to formal deliberations on Manila’s complaint that challenges the legality of Beijing’s assertion that its ownership of nearly the entire South China Sea is “indisputable” and “historical”.
A Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs statement issued Friday welcomed a decision by the Arbitral Tribunal that it had jurisdiction over the case.
"We look forward to the Tribunal's further hearing on the merits,” it added.
In what the Philippines saw as its first legal victory in the case, which was filed in Jan. 2013, the tribunal said it will be holding hearings soon and a final ruling on the case will be handed down in 2016.
The Tribunal, in its 151-page decision, also dismissed China’s argument that Manila’s case is beyond the scope of the court’s mandate.
The Tribunal decision said it has immediate jurisdiction on seven out of 15 points raised by the Philippines against China - called “submissions” in legal parlance - but postponed for “later consideration” its jurisdiction ruling on eight other issues raised by Manila, saying it will be decided on as it conducts a formal hearing on the merits of the case.
“The Tribunal will convene a further hearing on the merits of the Philippines’ claims. In consultation with the Parties, the Tribunal has provisionally set the dates for the merits hearing,” the ruling said.
“The Tribunal expects that it will render its Award on the merits and remaining jurisdictional issues in 2016.”
China claims almost all of the South China Sea including a cluster of islands, reefs and atolls further south called the Spratlys..............http://www.aa.com.tr/en/guncel/philippines-welcomes-hague-decision-to-hear-china-case/458044