Chinese Official On Tribunal Ruling: ‘It’s Nothing But A Scrap Of Paper’

 Western powers, which have an interest in maintaining “freedom of navigation” in waters that support more than US$5 trillion in shipping trade annually, have already put pressure on China to honour the ruling.

China, which has long insisted that the court lacks jurisdiction over issues of sovereignty and maritime delimitation, declared the award “null and void”.

China, which claims nearly all of the South China Sea, has said the summit is “not a suitable place to discuss” the issue. It has also built artificial islands out of the natural reefs that can accommodate military planes.

The aircraft touched down on Mischief Reef and Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands before returning to the southern Chinese island province of Hainan from where they had taken off, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China now has three airfields – the other on Yongshu, or Fiery Cross, Reef – “accessible to commercial airliners” on the Nansha Islands, also named the Spratly Islands.

The Philippines filed the legal challenge against China in 2013 under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino.

The United States has launched a round of quiet diplomacy to persuade countries around the region not to move aggressively to capitalize on the ruling, several US administration officials said on Wednesday.

Although China has repeatedly said it is not going to participate nor honor the decision of the court, law experts say this is going to bring the Philippines in an advantageous position.

She also told ABC radio on Wednesday that China’s reputation would suffer as a result of the court ruling, insisting relations with the worldwide community were crucial to its rise as a superpower.

However, he warned opponents to “not turn the South China Sea into a cradle of war”.

It was in direct contradiction to the ruling in The Hague on Tuesday, which said that “there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources”.

According to Beijing, most of the South China Sea, including the waters approaching neighboring countries, is part of its sovereign territory, backing up its arguments with Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called nine-dash line.

To another query, he said there was more room for direct naval cooperation between the United States and India in the Indian Ocean.

Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin on Wednesday said that said Beijing could declare an air defense identification zone over the waters if it felt threatened, a move that would sharply escalate tensions.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen is indignant at the United Nations arbitration tribunal’s decision to deny China – and Taiwan – their maritime claims in the South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.

Hours after the tribunal result became a global headline, Barack Obama’s top Asia adviser called on other claimants in the South China Sea to do what the Philippines did and take Beijing to court.