An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol insouth China Sea. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)
JAKARTA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines regarding the South China Sea issue is unlawful, wrote Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, in an article published on the Indonesia's largest English newspaper the Jakarta Post Wednesday.
Despite the Philippines packaged its appeal and asked the arbitral tribunal to rule the legal status of some of China's islands and reefs, the compulsory arbitration in essence deals with the sovereignty dispute which does not fall within the interpretation and application of UN convention on the sea of law (UNCLOS), Xie stated in the article titled "The dangerous arbitration of Beijing-Manila dispute".
The Philippines' abuse of compulsory procedures will undermine the international rule of law and regional peace, as it may set a precedent that any disputes, whether concerning territorial sovereignty or maritime delimitation, could be submitted for arbitration in the future, warned the Chinese ambassador, adding that the declarations excluding compulsory arbitration made by over 30 countries will also be rendered meaningless.
The case will also lead countries outside the region to take advantage of the Philippines to further heat up the tension by increasing military presence and pushing forward the "rebalancing" strategy, according to Xie.
"What is at state is the solidarity, cooperation, stability and prosperity that Asian countries have enjoyed for over 20 years, " he pointed out.
China will neither accept nor recognize the arbitration imposed by the Philippines unilaterally and illegally and the ruling will in no way change the history and fact that China has sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters, concluded Xie Feng.
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BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Society of the Law of the Sea has issued a statement on the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines. Following is the English version of the statement:Full story
Spotlight: China will not fall into trap of South China Sea arbitration: Chinese ambassador
JOHANNESBURG, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China will not give certain countries the satisfaction of tricking it into the trap of the South China Sea arbitration, Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, Tian Xuejun, said on Thursday.
In an article carried by Independent Media's nationwide newspaper The Star, Tian reveals the fallacy of the arbitration and reiterates the legitimacy of China's decision of neither participating in nor accepting the arbitration.Full story
Old map shows the Philippines' claim over South China Sea islands groundless
NEW YORK, May 29 (Xinhua) -- An old map published in 1899 by geographer J. Martin Miller shows that islands in the South China Sea have never been Philippine territory, Zeng Yingjing, the owner of the map, has told Xinhua.
The map was included in a book titled "The Twentieth Century ATLAS and Illustrated World," which was purchased by Zeng, a Chinese-American, at a flea market in New York in 2015.Full story
