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1st LD: China says Arbitral Tribunal's ruling on South China Sea "null and void"

Xinhua, October 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Foreign Ministry on Friday said in a statement that a ruling by the Arbitral Tribunal on Thursday on the jurisdiction and admissibility of the South China Sea is null and void, and has no binding effect on China.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and the adjacent waters," said the statement, which was released after the tribunal, established at the request of the Philippines, ruled that it can take on the case over the South China Sea dispute.

"China's sovereignty and relevant rights in the South China Sea [...] have been upheld by successive Chinese governments, reaffirmed by China's domestic laws on many occasions, and protected under international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]," said the statement.

"With regard to territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, China will not accept any solution imposed on it or any unilateral resort to a third-party dispute settlement," it said. Endi