China rejects U.N. arbitration on disputed South China Sea

The Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS) established at the request of the Philippines has no jurisdiction over the case, Mr. Hong said.

China on Monday rejected a UN tribunal’s arbitration on the disputed South China Sea saying it had no jurisdiction over the case even as Beijing asserted it would not accept any third-party settlement of territorial disputes.

“China’s territorial sovereignty should be decided by all the Chinese people, and no other people or organisation has the right to handle it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told media here.

He was replying to a question on the recent release of a court hearing record by an international tribunal in the Hague lodged by the Philippines as China brushed aside the UN tribunal arbitrating the case saying that it will not accept its verdict in the matter.

Mr. Hong said China’s position on the South China Sea stands on a solid international legal base and will remain unchanged.

He said at the hearing, the Philippines which filed the petition ignored facts, international law and justice, and attempted to deny China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea (SCS) islands.

The Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS) established at the request of the Philippines has no jurisdiction over the case, Mr. Hong said.

The tribunal admitted the Philippines’ petition overruling China’s objections.

China will not accept any third-party settlements of territorial disputes, he said urging the Philippines to change course and return to the track of negotiations.

China claims almost the whole of the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS). Its claim, however, is strongly contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.