African leader backs Beijing's stance

The Republic of the Congo has joined the list of more than 60 nations that have publicly voiced their support for China in an arbitration case on South China Sea issues.

Meeting with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, the African nation's President Denis Sassou Nguesso said his country backs China on these issues and will closely coordinate with Beijing on global affairs.

The statement was made ahead of a ruling on July 12 by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague, established without the Chinese government's consent to tackle the case brought unilaterally by the Philippines.

The 60-plus countries that have voiced support for China include India, Russia, Kenya and several regional organizations such as the Arab League.

Beijing has called for bilateral negotiations over the dispute with Manila, and has stated that it will not participate nor accept the arbitration, as the tribunal has no jurisdiction over issues concerning sovereignty and marine demarcation.

The countries supporting the Philippines include mainly the G-7 nations led by the United States, an ally of Manila.

Addressing a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing has noted that an increasing number of countries have supported China's position.

The case triggered controversy in international legal circles after the Philippines sought compulsory arbitral proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for establishing the tribunal.

Hong said the tribunal's expansion and abuse of power has led to concerns that it will "seriously impact the order of international law and bring no benefit to efforts in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea region".

Zhu Feng, professor and executive director at Nanjing University's China Center for Collaborative Studies, said the process of establishing the tribunal has led to questions about a range of problems, and political factors are behind the tribunal's expanded jurisdiction.

"There is no ideal condition and climate for the impartiality of such arbitration, as some countries and media in the West are interfering," Zhu said.

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that Manila is ready to talk to China and not go to war after the arbitration ruling.

Hong also referred to calls to fulfill the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a document signed by China and all 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2002.

Article 4 of the document states commitment to two way settlements of disputes. Hong warned that the arbitration will have a serious impact on cooperation within the framework of the declaration as well as on consultations for formulating the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/06/2016 page3)