Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

China's Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a statement in response to a joint statement by some countries, including the US, Australia, the UK, Japan and the Philippines, on the 10th anniversary of the so-called Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, reiterating that China does not accept or recognize the illegal arbitral award and that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by it.

Responding to a joint statement issued by the US, the UK, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia, China's Foreign Ministry stated that China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, including Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao. China has internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf based on Nanhai Zhudao (also known as the South China Sea islands), and China has historic rights in the South China Sea, according to the statement released on the Ministry's website

China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and its relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, the statement said. As early as the Western Han Dynasty in the second century BC, the Chinese people sailed in the South China Sea and discovered Nanhai Zhudao through long-term practice. China was the first to continuously, peacefully and effectively exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction over Nanhai Zhudao and the relevant waters. It has long been a widely held understanding in the international community that Nanhai Zhudao belongs to China.

The South China Sea is one of the world's safest sea lanes, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea has never been a problem, the statement said. China firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and firmly upholds peace and stability there.

In response to the infringement and provocations of relevant countries in the South China Sea, China has taken firm measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests, which are justified and lawful, professional and restrained, the statement said. It noted that the continued military buildup by the US and other countries from outside the region, as well as their reckless moves and acts of fanning flames, represent militarizing and coercive behavior and are the main challenges facing the current situation in the South China Sea, the statement said. 

Land territorial issues are not subject to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the statement said. Maritime delimitation disputes had already been excluded from UNCLOS compulsory dispute settlement procedures by China's 2006 declaration under Article 298 of UNCLOS. On territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes, China does not accept any dispute settlement solution imposed on it, the statement said.

China will continue to follow the basic principles of international law and basic norms governing international relations as affirmed by the UN Charter, including respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the statement said.

China will continue to work with the parties directly concerned, on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law, to resolve relevant disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation and consultation, and to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea, according to the statement.

China's position on the Arbitral Award on the South China Sea is clear, consistent and firm, the statement said. The arbitration violated basic principles of international law, including state consent and pacta sunt servanda. It also violates UNCLOS itself and, even more fundamentally, runs counter to the basic facts of the South China Sea. The so-called award is nothing but a piece of waste paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force.

"China does not accept or recognize the 'award,' and opposes and does not accept any claim or action based on the 'award.' China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the 'award,'" the statement said.

Ten years after the so-called award was issued, it has not resolved China-Philippines maritime issues, but instead has become a tool for the Philippines to expand its territorial and maritime claims, and it intensified regional tensions, provided an excuse for forces from outside the region to interfere in the South China Sea issue and disturb the situation there, the statement said. It has become a "stumbling block" affecting China-Philippines relations and peace and stability in the South China Sea.

If the standards of the so-called award were applied, many countries' islands and reefs would lose the basis for claiming maritime rights and interests, the statement said.

The statement asked whether individual countries that support the "award" have voluntarily given up the corresponding maritime rights and interests of their own islands and reefs. The continued hype over the illegal "award" by relevant countries runs counter to the broader trend of regional peace and stability and goes against the vision of regional countries and peoples seeking development and prosperity, and their attempts are doomed to fail.

The statement urges relevant countries to truly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, stop stirring up trouble on the South China Sea issue, and stop undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Global Times