Worrying tension in South China Sea

“The ruling or the result of arbitration will not affect China’s position”, Liu said.

An worldwide arbitration panel has ruled that it can hear a case brought by the Philippines concerning the South China Sea, thwarting China’s attempts to have the case thrown out. Beijing’s claim that its territory is being infringed upon therefore rests on a sketchy map dating to the 1940s in which nine dashes are superimposed across 80 percent of the South China Sea. China has not participated in the proceedings and does not recognize the court’s authority in the case.

Reichler said it was “inevitable” that China would one day have to seek a few accommodation with a judgment against it if it wanted to be seen as a state that respected worldwide law.

Foreign affairs ministers from Europe and Asia are scheduled to meet in Luxembourg next week, and we should get a better idea of the state of play following discussions between officials from all 28 European Union countries and 21 Asian nations.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its islands, reefs and atolls as its sovereign territory, an assertion challenged by five other regional governments.

Carter said discussions at an upcoming defence summit in Malaysia would include developments in the South China Sea, “the most notable of which in the previous year has been the unprecedented rate of dredging and military activity by China”.

The comments by Admiral Wu Shengli, who commands the Chinese navy, were made in a video call with US Admiral John Richardson that lasted about an hour, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency said Friday.

Taiwan, however, said it “consistently adhered” to the principles of peaceful settlement of global disputes and freedom of navigation and overflight of the UN Charter and other relevant worldwide regulations.

On Tuesday, the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the features claimed by China, infuriating Beijing, which called Washington’s move a threat to its sovereignty.

The Lassen, the US Navy pointed out, also sailed through waters claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam.

Going to war may not be on the minds of either the USA or China.

“On issues related to territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, China doesn’t accept any proposal that’s forced upon China, and doesn’t accept dispute-resolution plans that involve unilateral appeals to a third party”, said the ministry.

“The Tribunal also recalled the steps it had taken to ensure that the Philippines was not disadvantaged by China’s non-participation”.

In a long planned exercise, the Australian Navy’s HMAS Stuart and HMAS Arunta are today working with Chinese warships, in a rare collaboration with a Western military force, near the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang, south-west of Hong Kong.

It said that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, an inhabitable island can claim the territorial waters, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone around it.

Former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Saturday said there was a “big chance” that the Philippines would win Round 2 with China in the arbitral court.