Ministry rejects third-party imposition on South China Sea

Yongxing Island is home to the government of Sansha, China's southernmost city. [Photo/Xinhua]

China does not accept any third party trying to impose a settlement or any solution forced on China, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday after a ruling, technically described as an award, by an arbitral tribunal in the unilaterally-initiated case on the South China Sea.

"China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall, under no circumstances, be affected by those awards. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards," the statement said.

The statement said the unilateral initiation of the arbitration case was an act "of bad faith".

"It aims not to resolve the relevant disputes between China and the Philippines, or to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, but to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea," said the statement.

The tribunal, appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, announced on Tuesday that China has no "historic title" over the South China Sea.

The conduct of the tribunal and its awards are "unjust and unlawful", the statement said and added that it seriously contravened the general practice of international arbitration and completely deviated from the object and purpose of UNCLOS to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes.

In 2002, China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea, which rules that the relevant parties should resolve disputes through peaceful dialogue and negotiation.

"By unilaterally initiating the arbitration, the Philippines violated UNCLOS and its provisions on the application of dispute settlement procedures, the principle of 'pacta sunt servanda' (agreements must be kept) and other rules and principles of international law," said the statement.

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