China will not accept and participate in the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines over rights to the South China Sea, and this position is firmly grounded in international law, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
China and the Philippines have agreed several times that the two sides will solve the disputed South China Sea issue through negotiations and consultations, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press briefing on Monday, citing different joint statements agreed by both countries.
The response came after the Philippines recently released the transcript of the oral hearing on jurisdiction in the arbitration, after the nation filed the case at The Hague in early 2013.
"The Philippines' unilateral initiation and obstinate pushing forward of the arbitral proceeding, in an attempt to negate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and to pressure China into making compromises regarding the relevant matters, is not only a pipe dream and will lead to nothing," Hua said, adding that it will also undermine the order of international maritime law.
Chinese government has released a document regarding the arbitration case on December 7, 2014, which showed the legal evidence as to why China neither accepts nor participates in the case, according to Hua.
The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that was signed by China and ASEAN countries including the Philippines on November 4, 2002 stated clearly that the parties concerned should resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by "peaceful means … through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law."
