China vows to protect South China Sea sovereignty after ruling
New Delhi, July 13 ( IANS & DIP Bureau ) India said on Tuesday that sea lanes of communication passing through the South China Sea are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development as an international court ruled that China had no historic rights over the waters of the sea.
In a statement, India also urged all parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to show utmost respect for the international agreement.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement, said that India supports freedom of navigation and over flight, and unimpeded commerce, based on the principles of international law, as reflected notably in the UNCLOS.
“India believes that states should resolve disputes through peaceful means without threat or use of force and exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability.”
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday ruled there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources in the South China Sea.
Beijing called the Philippines claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea “baseless” and an “act of bad faith”. In a government white paper published on Wednesday China also said its fishing boats had been harassed and attacked by the Philippines around the Spratly Islands.
“On whether China will set up a air defense zone over the South China Sea, what we have to make clear first is that China has the right to…But whether we need one in the South China Sea depends on the level of threats we face,” the Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters in Beijing, adding that China hopes to return to bilateral talks with Manila.
China vowed to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty in the South China Sea and said it had the right to set up an air defense zone, after rejecting an international tribunal’s ruling that denied its claims in the region.
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.
“China will take all necessary measures to protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily said in a front page commentary on Wednesday.
Statement from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing stated “With regard to the award rendered on 12 July 2016 by the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration established at the unilateral request of the Republic of the Philippines (hereinafter referred to as the "Arbitral Tribunal"), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China solemnly declares that the award is null and void and has no binding force. China neither accepts nor recognizes it.”
‘China on Tuesday suffered a major diplomatic blow when an international tribunal ruled that it violated the Philippines’ rights in the South China Sea. Beijing refused to accept the verdict, calling it “null and void”.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague accused China of interfering with the Philippines’ fishing and petroleum exploration, building artificial islands in the waters and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone, media reports said.
The tribunal held that fishermen from the Philippines had traditional fishing rights in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, and that China had interfered with these rights by restricting their access.
The court held that Chinese law enforcement vessels unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels in the region, the South China Morning Post reported.
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Straits of Taiwan, of around 3.5 million sq km.
The South China Sea is a resource rich strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion worth of global trade is shipped each year. Beijing has placed runways and radar facilities on new islets it has created in the disputed sea after piling huge amounts of sand onto reefs.
The tribunal’s much-anticipated verdict demolished China’s expansive claims and its historical nine-dash line in the disputed South China Sea.
“There is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the nine-dash line,” the court said.
“China has violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights with respect to its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.”
China reacted angrily the ruling, saying it did not accept or recognize it. “The award is null and void and has no binding force,” the Foreign Ministry said.
China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea should under no circumstances be affected by such rulings, it said.
Xinhua news agency issued a brief report reiterating Beijing’s stance of rejecting the tribunal’s authority over the case which Manila brought against Beijing.
Beijing refused to participate in the case and has denounced it as a plot against China led by the US.
Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
China, however, said it was ready to continue to resolve the dispute peacefully by negotiation “on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law”.
“Pending final settlement, China is also ready to … enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature, including joint development in relevant maritime areas, in order to achieve win-win results and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.”
China said it respected the freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed by all states in the South China Sea … “to ensure the safety of and the unimpeded access to the international shipping lanes” in the region.
The ruling from the Hague was harsh on Beijing.
China caused severe harm to the coral reef environment in the South China Sea, the court said.
The Chinese authorities were aware that Chinese fishermen had harvested endangered sea turtles, coral and giant clams on a “substantial scale” in the region “using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment”, it said.
The announcement of the ruling came as China and its main rival claimants went on high alert amid heightened tensions over the maritime disputes.