Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party of China’s Political Bureau, outlined China’s position on the South China Sea arbitration case while attending ASEAN Plus foreign ministers’ meetings on Friday.
Wang argued that the arbitration case, initiated unilaterally by the Philippines, lacked legal grounds because it bypassed prior consultations and disregarded the principle of state consent, which is essential for any arbitration process.
He stated that the move violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which emphasizes resolving disputes through peaceful consultations among directly involved parties. Additionally, the Philippines’ actions went against earlier bilateral commitments with China and contravened the legal principle of estoppel.
Wang noted that despite being framed differently, the core of the Philippine claim centered on China’s territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and maritime boundaries, issues outside the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China, he said, had explicitly excluded maritime delimitation from arbitration under UNCLOS through a 2006 declaration, which aligns with the Convention’s optional exceptions.
He also pointed out that while four of the five permanent UN Security Council members (including China) have submitted similar exclusions under UNCLOS, the U.S., which hasn’t even ratified the Convention, continues to criticize China. Wang said the arbitral tribunal overstepped its authority and misused the UNCLOS dispute resolution mechanism, undermining the international maritime legal system it purported to uphold.
Criticizing the tribunal’s findings, Wang highlighted a key flaw, its classification of Taiping Island as a mere rock rather than an island capable of generating an exclusive economic zone. This decision, he argued, ignored the reality of the island’s size and features and contradicted UNCLOS provisions. He warned that applying such standards globally could upend the established maritime order, questioning whether countries like the U.S. and Japan would accept similar judgments.
Wang further claimed that the case and its promotion were manipulated by external forces aiming to destabilize the South China Sea for their own strategic purposes, a reality increasingly recognized by the global community.
He concluded by reaffirming China’s commitment to upholding international law and the integrity of UNCLOS. Thanks to cooperative efforts with ASEAN nations, the South China Sea remains stable, with freedom of navigation intact. China, he said, is accelerating talks with ASEAN on a Code of Conduct, and attempts to stir trouble or incite division in the region are doomed to fail.
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