China accuses Philippines of ‘provocation’ for seeking international arbitration to resolve territorial disputes in South China Sea
China has accused US ally the Philippines of “political provocation” in seeking international arbitration over territorial claims in the South China Sea, driving home its intention to ignore the proceedings despite pressure from Washington.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the decision by Philippine leaders to lodge a case with a tribunal in The Hague was “irresponsible to the Filipino people and the future of the Philippines”.
China has refused to participate in the arbitration process, which it has denounced as illegitimate. A ruling is expected later this year after the tribunal decided last October that it could hear the case.
READ MORE: Is this China’s message to the US? Chinese missile frigate enters service in East China Sea
Meanwhile in Beijing, China’s Defence Ministry said the commander of US forces in the Pacific had smeared China as part of an attempt to obtain additional defence funding from Congress, in the latest bout of verbal jousting accompanying rising tensions in the South China Sea.
Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian strongly criticised Admiral Harry Harris’ assertions before Congress that China was militarising the economically and strategically vital waterway and seeking “hegemony” in East Asia. China adamantly denies such accusations and says Washington and its allies are responsible for raising tensions.
The Philippines initiated arbitration in early 2013 after Beijing refused to withdraw its ships from a disputed shoal under a US-brokered deal. It contends that China’s massive territorial claims in the strategic waters do not conform with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and should be declared invalid. The Philippines also asserts that some Chinese-occupied reefs and shoals do not generate, or create a claim to, territorial waters.
We’ve been sailing in the South China Sea, and will continue to sail wherever international law allows, for decades now. We’re not doing anything new
Wang blamed the Philippines for shutting the door to negotiations with China over their dispute and seeking arbitration without China’s consent.