China has urged the Philippines to stop its bid to have an international court settle their territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
China claims jurisdiction over almost all of the sea.
The Philippines has filed an appeal with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, saying China’s claims are unacceptable under international law. The court is expected to rule on the case within weeks.
China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday criticizing the Philippines for its unilateral initiation of the arbitration.
The ministry said China has proposed on a number of occasions the establishment of a bilateral regular consultation mechanism for maritime issues, but the Philippines has failed to respond.
It stressed that China will never accept recourse to a third party settlement, or any means of dispute settlement that is imposed upon it concerning territorial sovereignty or maritime boundaries.
The statement also said the door to bilateral negotiation is always open, and urged the Philippines to stop what it calls the wrongful conduct of pushing forward the arbitration. It added that the country should return to the right path of settling disputes through bilateral negotiations.
Observers say China is apparently trying to emphasize that the Philippines is to blame for the 2 countries’ territorial disputes. They say the country may be concerned that rejecting the arbitration would give the impression that China does not respect international law.
Source and image: NHK
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