On July 12, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi made a statement ten years after the "2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea." The statement blatantly endorses the illegal "award," attacks China's lawful claims and mischaracterizes Japan as a "legitimate stakeholder who uses the South China Sea." China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it.

Japan is not a party in the South China Sea and is in no position to pass judgment on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. During WWII, Japan committed innumerable crimes that caused untold suffering on China and its people, including the illegal occupation of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Now decades later, Japan, in the name of a "stakeholder," is again attempting to meddle in the South China Sea. This reminds people of Japan's history of aggression and expansion, and heightens their vigilance against Japan's neo-militarism agenda.

China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in the law. China's activities in the South China Sea are fully legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach. China's rights in the South China Sea can by no means be denied by the makeshift "arbitral tribunal." In rendering the "award," the "arbitral tribunal" exceeded its authority and abused its jurisdiction. The "award" is naturally illegal, null and void, and has no binding force. It has gravely undermined the sanctity and authority of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and dealt a serious blow to the international rule of law. China neither accepts nor recognizes the "award," and opposes and will never accept any claim or action arising from it.

By turning a blind eye to the glaring flaws in the "award" while openly endorsing it, Japan has laid bare its double standards and hypocrisy. According to the "award," Taiping Dao in the Nansha Qundao, an area that spans 500,000 square meters and has fresh water, vegetables, fruits and poultry to sustain human habitation, is not even considered an island and therefore cannot generate entitlement to exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. If that could stand, how could Okinotori—nothing more than two tiny rocks of less than 10 square meters in the Pacific—possibly justify a claim to EEZ and continental shelf of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers? By that "standard," many of Japan's islands and reefs would likewise have no basis for claiming maritime rights and interests. Since Japan has publicly endorsed the "award," China has every reason to believe that Japan has accepted the same "standard" and voluntarily renounced the corresponding maritime claims.

What Japan really cares about is not the international rule of law, but meddling in and destabilizing the South China Sea. For some time, Japan has been stepping up collaboration with the Philippines and expanding its export of weapons and equipment to the country. Japan has also deployed military forces overseas on many occasions and launched offensive missiles. These actions go far beyond the scope of self-defense, break free from Japan's Constitution and norms in the international law, and challenge the post-war international order. All this begs the question: what exactly is Japan's real intention?

We urge Japan to stop smearing China, stop sowing disinformation in the South China Sea, and stop undermining peace and stability in the region. China will continue firmly defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. Any attempts to challenge China's lawful rights and interests and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea are doomed to fail.