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The Chinese Embassy in Japan has lodged a solemn protest and expressed strong opposition over Japan's Foreign Minister's remarks marking the 10th anniversary of the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" and Japan's joint statement with other countries on the matter, according to a post published by the embassy's official WeChat account on Monday.

Shi Yong, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Chinese Embassy to Japan, raised the demarche with Kanai Masaaki, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Monday.  

The so-called award violated the basic norms of international law, severely undermined the seriousness and authority of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and dealt a serious blow to the rule of law in international affairs. The award is "nothing more than a piece of illegal and invalid waste paper with no binding force," and China opposes and rejects any claims or actions based on it, the embassy said.

China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea will not be affected by the award under any circumstances, it said.

Japan bears historical responsibility for issues concerning the South China Sea and has yet to conduct a thorough reflection and reckoning over its past. Therefore it has no right to make irresponsible comments on the issue, the embassy said.

Japan keeps interfering in South China Sea affairs and politically manipulated the illegal award. The egregious words and deeds constitute a challenge to the postwar international order and the international rule of law, undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea, run counter to the common interests and aspirations of regional countries, and arouse grave vigilance among regional countries and the international community, the embassy said.

China will respond firmly and forcefully to Japan's provocations and resolutely safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the embassy said.

Japanese scholars reached by the Global Times on Monday said that Japan, despite not being a claimant state in the South China Sea, has ignored its historical responsibility for the occupation of South China Sea islands and forcibly intervened in regional affairs in an attempt to build a network to contain China in Southeast Asia under the pretext of the South China Sea issue and pursue neo-militarism. Such moves to stir up regional tensions and return to a path of expansion could gradually push Japan into international isolation.

Yasukatsu Matsushima, a professor at Ryukoku University in Japan, told the Global Times on Monday that after Japan announced its unconditional surrender by accepting the Potsdam Proclamation, the Chinese government recovered the South China Sea islands in accordance with the clear provisions of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation.

Japan's disregard for historical facts and legal principles, its attempts to link South China Sea issue with its own interests, hype up the illegal "arbitration award," and portray itself as a "stakeholder" in the issue are, in essence, a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, Matsushima said.

Japan's pacifist Constitution is a domestic legal manifestation of the post-World War II international order's institutional arrangements for Japan's demilitarization and serves as an important institutional foundation for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

"Today, the Japanese government is vigorously promoting neo-militarism, continuously challenging the postwar international order and attempting to regain the illegitimate privileges of its colonial aggression era through military expansion, seriously threatening peace and stability in East Asia and Southeast Asia," Matsushima said.

He added that Japan's most important responsibility at present is to sincerely apologize for the aggression committed by the Japanese military in the South China Sea during World War II.

"Japan is not a South China Sea claimant state, and neither is the US. Against this backdrop, making irresponsible remarks will only unnecessarily damage diplomatic relations and create regional disputes," Hiroshi Shiratori, a professor of political science at Hosei University in Japan, told the Global Times on Monday.

Japan's latest hype over the issue is aimed at serving its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," Shiratori said, noting that geopolitical calculations should not become an excuse for Japan to unilaterally provoke confrontation and undermine regional stability.

"Constantly playing up hostility and pushing forward a path of confrontation will only lead to an escalation of regional tensions," he said.

"To resolve maritime disputes, prevent conflicts at sea and safeguard long-term regional peace and stability, China and ASEAN member states have consistently advanced consultations and negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. Deepening maritime security cooperation is the only way to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," Matsushima said.

Japan's repeated attempts to stir up controversy and intensify regional tensions over the South China Sea issue run counter to the aspirations of regional countries, he said.

Such provocative actions that go against the broader trend lack public support, Matsushima said, urging the Japanese government to stop interfering in the South China Sea issue.

"If Japan continues to incite confrontation, it will ultimately repeat the mistakes of history and find itself in international isolation," he said.

On Sunday, when responding to Japan's Foreign Minister's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that by turning a blind eye to the glaring flaws in the "award" while openly endorsing it, Japan has exposed 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, said the spokesperson.