BEIJING — China accused the United States of “ganging up” and forcing it to just accept a 2016 arbitration ruling over claims within the South China Sea, as Washington urged Beijing to halt what it referred to as its routine harassment of vessels of different nations within the area.
The ruling, handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague seven years in the past, concluded that Beijing’s declare to virtually the whole South China Sea was groundless.
“The US ropes in allies to play up the issue each year on the anniversary of the illegal award to gang up against China and to exert pressure, and force China into accepting the award,” the Chinese embassy within the Philippines mentioned on Wednesday, whereas calling Washington the “mastermind” behind the arbitration.
China, whose actions within the South China Sea have been the topic of a whole bunch of diplomatic protests filed by the Philippines, additionally maintained that it doesn’t settle for any declare or motion based mostly on the ruling.
“With its ruling, the tribunal violated the principle of state consent, went beyond its authority to hear the case and perverted law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbing informed a news convention.
Saying that the ruling was last and legally binding on the Philippines and China, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday urged Beijing to “comport its maritime claims with international law.”
Beijing must also “halt its disruption to states’ sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage natural resources, and end its interference with the freedoms of navigation and overflight of states lawfully operating in the region,” he mentioned.
To rejoice the anniversary of the arbitral award, which has acquired the backing of nations such because the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday launched a web site containing details about Manila’s authorized victory towards Beijing.
“We firmly reject attempts to deliberately diminish or undermine the Award’s definitive legal effects in international law,” DFA Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro informed a discussion board on the South China Sea. “Having been made final, the Award is no longer contestable and is beyond compromise.”
About $3 trillion price of sea-borne items cross by the South China Sea yearly. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
