Beijing rejects Hanoi's legal challenge on Spratly, Paracel islands disputes
Vietnam's latest manoeuvre to challenge China over the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands is a 'cat and mouse' game, analyst says
China has rejected an effort by Vietnam to protect its claims in the South China Sea, saying Hanoi's assertions to an international panel studying the Philippines' dispute with China are illegal.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed the Vietnamese action on Thursday, describing its claims over the Spratly and Paracel islands - known in China as the Nansha and Xisha - as invalid.
Vietnam sent a statement to The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration last week, making three main claims in opposition to China's stand on the islands.
First, it recognised the court's jurisdiction over the case brought by the Philippines, directly contradicting China's position that the court had no such authority.
Second, it asked the court to give "due regard" to its legal rights and interests in the Spratlys, the Paracels and in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf when deciding on the merits of the Philippine case.