Chinese state media savage international tribunal rulings on South China Sea
People’s Daily describes hearings as “political provocation” against China while Global Times said rulings were merely “trash paper”
China’s state controlled media have angrily attacked the international tribunal rulings that dismissed the nation’s claims to much of the South China Sea.
A front page commentary in the Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily described the rulings from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as a political provocation.
The paper also denounced the former government of ex-Philippines president Benigno Aquino for bringing the case and said the hearings were “under direct control and incited by the external power”, an apparent reference to the United States.
“China will take every necessary action to protect territorial sovereignty and maritime rights from violations and any attempt to break China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights can only be a delusion,” the article said.
The newspaper also carried statements from the government and the nation’s foreign ministry on its front page.
They upheld China’s territorial rights in the South China Sea and rejected the tribunal’s rulings.