The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government issued its final award on Tuesday, sweepingly siding with Manila's cunningly packaged claims.
The process and outcome of the three-year-long arbitration have drawn criticism from dozens of countries and numerous experts across the world, who pointed out that the panel has no jurisdiction and its decision is naturally null and void.
POLITICAL FARCE
Among other conclusions it reached in the 479-page award in blatant disregard of historical facts and general international law, the five-member tribunal denied China's long-standing historical rights in the South China Sea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with visiting European leaders on Tuesday, said that China will not accept any proposition or action based on the award, and that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea will under no circumstances be affected by it.
China has refused to participate in the proceedings, reiterating that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case, which is in essence related to territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation.
The Chinese government has pointed out that territorial issues are not governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that it has -- in line with UNCLOS -- excluded disputes concerning maritime delimitation from mandatory dispute-settlement procedures. Some 30 other countries have also made similar exclusions.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China solemnly declares that the award is null and void and has no binding force. China neither accepts nor recognizes it," the ministry said in a statement shortly after the award was announced.
Describing the arbitration as a political farce under the pretext of law, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that by not participating in and not accepting the arbitration, China is upholding international law and regional rules.
The government of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III filed the arbitration against China in 2013, despite the agreement his country had reached with China on resolving their disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.
Although Manila asserted that its submissions do not concern territorial sovereignty or maritime delimitation, the Philippine Foreign Ministry, a day after launching the arbitration, described the purpose of the case as to "protect our country's territory and oceanic area."
Xu Liping, a senior research fellow with the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), stressed that UNCLOS should never be allowed to serve as a tool for certain interest groups to decide on sovereignty-related disputes.
"The award, a typically unfair and arbitrary verdict, represents a huge blow to the world's confidence in the international legal system and the integrity of arbitration proceedings," he said.
