US, Chinese naval chiefs agree to maintain dialogue

Ashton Carter, the U.S. defense secretary, said meanwhile that the Pentagon will do whatever it needs to maintain freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

About 30 percent of global trade passes through the South China Sea, which also has rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of undersea mineral deposits.

Beijing’s response closely mirrored its actions in May when a navy dispatcher warned off a U.S. Navy P8-A Poseidon surveillance aircraft as it flew over Fiery Cross Reef, where China has conducted extensive reclamation work.

By directing one of its naval ships within 12 miles, the recognized limit of a country’s maritime border, of the Fiery Cross Reef, the United States has directly challenged China.

“Therefore, the arbitration does not affect the ROC in any way, and the ROC neither recognizes nor accepts related awards”, it said. Two Chinese warships followed the US destroyer and issued warnings. In the 1950s China adopted a U-shaped “nine-dash line” that encircles a large area of the South China Sea and declared that the sea inside the line was its territorial waters, although there is no legal basis for the claim under worldwide law.

A government foreign affairs spokesman in Manila, Charles Jose, said Philippine authorities hope to persuade the court that it has full authority to decide the validity of China’s assertion that the artificial islands it is building in contested waters are sovereign Chinese territory.

Such a principle does not provide a pretext or privilege for any nation to harm others’ sovereignty and security, he said.

China’s sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea are grounded in history and protected under worldwide laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to the statement. “So, we shouldn’t make it more than what it actually is”, he said as quoted by the ABC.

Panatag – also known as Scarborough Shoal/Reef, Democracy Reef, Huangyan Island, and Bajo de Masinloc – is located between the Macclesfield Bank – claimed by China and Taiwan – and the Philippino Luzon Island in the Sea.

On Thursday, China’s naval commander expressed “deep concern” over the patrol of a US Navy destroyer in the South China Sea during a dialogue aimed at easing tensions caused by the sail-through.

But China has refused to participate in the proceedings, arguing that the case is about sovereignty and the court can not rule on it.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, rejected China’s argument that the dispute was about sovereignty – and so beyond its remit.

Developments in the South China Sea (SCS) have significant implications for India’s strategic interests and its role in the Indo-Pacific region.

State Department spokesman John Kirby told a regular news briefing that in accordance with the terms of UNCLOS, the decision of the tribunal would be legally binding on both the Philippines and China.