3rd LD: China refuses South China Sea arbitration award

China said Tuesday it neither accepts nor recognizes the award of an arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration established at the request of the Philippines.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will not accept any proposition or action based on the award, adding that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in South China Sea, under any circumstances, will not be affected by the award.

Xi made the remarks on Tuesday afternoon while meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in downtown Beijing.

"The award is null and void and has no binding force," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government issued its final award on Tuesday, amid a global chorus that the panel has no jurisdiction.

In a press release accompanying the 479-page award, the five-member tribunal offered a summary of its decisions, which sweepingly side with the claims filed by the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III.

The arbitration is a political farce under the pretext of law, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The unilateral initiation of arbitration by the Philippines is out 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, the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The statement criticized that the conduct of the arbitral tribunal and its awards seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration, completely deviate from the object and purpose of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to promote peaceful settlement of disputes, substantially impair the integrity and authority of UNCLOS, gravely infringe upon China's legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS, and are unjust and unlawful.

"China has territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea," said a separate statement titled "Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China's Territorial Sovereignty and Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea".

China is always firmly opposed to the invasion and illegal occupation by certain states of some islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao (the Nansha Islands), and activities infringing upon China's rights and interests in relevant maritime areas under China's jurisdiction, according to the latter statement.

China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands), consisting of Dongsha Qundao (the Dongsha Islands), Xisha Qundao (the Xisha Islands), Zhongsha Qundao (the Zhongsha Islands) and Nansha Qundao, said the Chinese government statement.

China has internal waters, territorial sea and contiguous zone, based on Nanhai Zhudao. Also, China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, based on Nanhai Zhudao, according to the statement.

China has historic rights in the South China Sea, it said.

The statement went on and said that China stands ready to continue to resolve the relevant disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation with the states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law.

"China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed by all states under international law in the South China Sea, and stays ready to work with other coastal states and the international community to ensure the safety of and the unimpeded access to the international shipping lanes in the South China Sea," the statement said.

"The Chinese government reiterates that, regarding territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes, China does not accept any means of third party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China," the Foreign Ministry statement said. Endi