China rejects Hague ruling on South China sea
By Lobsang Tenchoe
DHARAMSALA, July 13: China says might is right, flexes its muscle by first boycotting the case and then rejecting the ruling of the International Tribunal in The Hague on South China sea dispute.
China has resolutely rejected the ruling of the tribunal issued yesterday which pronounced that China’s claims to rights in the South China Sea have no legal basis.
The ruling by the tribunal, stated that there was no evidence that China had historic rights to the waters or resources that fell within its “nine-dash line”, and was violating Philippine’s sovereign rights with its operations there.
“The Philippines reiterates its abiding commitment to efforts of pursuing the peaceful resolution and management of disputes with the view of promoting and enhancing peace and stability in the region,” Perfecto Yasay, the Philippine foreign secretary was quoted as saying in an Aljazeera report July 13.
Chinese State media called the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague a “puppet” of external forces, after it ruled that China had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights by endangering its ships and fishing and oil projects the report adds.
“China will take all necessary measures to protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” reads a commentary on the front page of the People’s Daily.
“The Chinese government and the Chinese people firmly oppose [the ruling] and will neither acknowledge it nor accept it,” it added.
“China’s territorial sovereignty and marine rights’ in the seas would not be affected by the ruling,” Chinese president Xi Jinping was quoted as saying by The Guardian yesterday after the ruling.
Along with Philippines other countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also contest China’s claims to islands and reefs closer to their territory than Beijing’s.
