China Holds Live-Fire Navy Drills in East China Sea

The court also ruled that many purported islands controlled by China are not in fact islands but instead reefs or rocks, which do not generate territorial rights.

China, which boycotted the tribunal, has rejected the verdict on the strategic waters over which the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have counter-claims.

China also refused to accept the court’s ruling, dismissing it as “null and void” and a “piece of waste paper”.

Downplaying the authority of the arbitration tribunal, China said, “The people’s courts will actively exercise jurisdiction over China’s territorial waters” and “safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests”.

According to the regulation by the SPC, jurisdictional seas not only include inland waters and territorial seas, but also cover regions including contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.

He said the tribunal’s ruling delivered a clear and legally binding decision on maritime claims in the East Sea as they relate to China and the Philippines and that ruling should be respected.

The live-fire drills that began Monday follow China’s strident rejection of an global arbitration panel’s ruling last month that invalidated Beijing’s claims to a vast swath of the South China Sea. The Philippines brought its case to the Hague under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

It also established penalties for harvesting coral and giant clams, as well as other endangered species.

A ministry statement issued late Tuesday Japan’s annual defense report was “full of lousy clichés, makes irresponsible remarks on China’s normal and legal national defense and military development (and) hypes up the East and South China Sea issues”.

The navy added that it was a routine exercise, not directed at any nation. Beijing has described that ruling as “waste paper” and has vowed to disregard it.

“The South China Sea has drawn huge attention, but some information online is not accurate”, said Zhang Haiwen, SOA official in charge of worldwide cooperation.

She noted that China’s navy and air force activities are in line with worldwide law, domestic law as well as national defense needs.

As any war progressed, the report said China’s defensive capabilities would have the effect of lessening its losses, increasing the United States losses and denying any outright victory.

“The lack of unified position of Asean is allowing major powers to come into play”, said Heazle said in his presentation at the Second Manila Conference of the South China Sea held at Manila Hotel on Wednesday.

Wang Hanling, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, said anyone who violates Beijing’s maritime laws run the risk of being imprisoned aside from the confiscation of their vessels and fishing materials.

Such action is likely to cause an accident; it is very irresponsible and risky and detrimental to regional peace and stability.