South China Sea Arbitration News & Discussion

[TaiShang]

Quotable quotes

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Quotable quotes on the unlawful S. China Sea arbitration

Source: Xinhua | 2016-07-12 23:52:07 |

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Hague-based arbitration court issued on Tuesday an ill-founded award on an arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China regarding their dispute in the South China Sea. The Chinese government officials and overseas experts have voiced their disapproval of the court's verdict.

Xi Jinping

-- China will not accept any proposition or action based on the award. The South China Sea Islands have been China's territory since ancient times. China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea, in any circumstances, will not be affected by the award.

Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister

-- The arbitration is a political farce under the pretext of law.

Spokesman of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry

-- Pakistan opposes any imposition of unilateral will on others, and respects China's statement of optional exception in light of Article 298 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Countries outside the region should fully respect efforts made by China and the ASEAN countries to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, and play a constructive role to this end.

Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore

-- The arbitration, initiated by the Philippines against China, is a political issue manipulated by the United States, which demands political solutions, instead of the employment of the law.

Satur Ocampo, a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives

-- The Aquino government should not initiate an arbitration case on the disputed South China Sea to the arbitral tribunal. If a conflict arises between China and the Philippines, it would provide the United States with the excuses they need in interfering in the regional affairs.

Saeed al-Lawindi, a political researcher and expert of international relations at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies

-- I believe that the ruling issued today is completely biased and it might in some way or another stir up serious conflict in the region.

What is happening now is a kind of cold war, directly between China and the Philippines and indirectly between the United States and both China and Russia.

Mahmoud Allam, former Egyptian ambassador to China

-- International arbitration is one of the mechanisms used for settling disputes as stated by the United Nations charter, but this mechanism must meet several conditions, otherwise it would be null and void.

Accordingly, it is obvious that the Philippines' unilateral resort to arbitration regarding the South China Sea issue without the approval of the other party, which is China ... makes the arbitration itself null and void in form.

 

[deckingraj]

The one designed to contain China ? lol
Come on they can go and invade iraq, attack Libya leave it in Dust. What worth does this Biased ruling have ?

Then you were complaining that i was mocking you as cheerleader...How do you know the ruling is biased?? Do you even have an idea what ICJ is?? Here read about it
http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1

b/w FYI - there are many times Pakistan has also dragged India into the same court and vice versa...also like ICJ another UN body did actually did this to you..
http://www.dawn.com/news/1170986/pa...feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+dawn-news+(Dawn+News)

Now suddenly UN bodies are biased ?? Anyways just for argument sake what is your take on china claim of almost whole of south china sea??

 

[beijingwalker]

US: Tribunal’s decision is final and legally binding

July 12, 2016 Joel Dizon Nation 0



The United States government said that according to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Tribunal’s decision on West Philippine Sea case is final and legally binding on both China and the Philippines.

“As provided in the Convention, the Tribunal’s decision is final and legally binding on both China and the Philippines. The United States expresses its hope and expectation that both parties will comply with their obligations,” US State Department spokesperson Assistant Secretary John Kirby said in a press statement released today.

He added that the United States urges all claimants to avoid provocative statements or actions. “This decision can and should serve as a new opportunity to renew efforts to address maritime disputes peacefully,” he added.

“The United States strongly supports the rule of law. We support efforts to resolve territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea peacefully, including through arbitration,” Kirby said.

He said that the US government is still studying the decision and have no comment on the merits of the case.

Who cares what US says anything? Where were they when China took over the Paracels in 1974? oh, Yes, actually they were there right besides you but didn't have the balls to do anything. lol..

 

[Pinoy]

'No legal basis' for China's South China Sea claims
Ruling seen as a victory for the Philippines, which filed the case before the tribunal at The Hague.

An arbitration tribunal in The Hague has rejected China's claims to economic rights across large swaths of the South China Sea, in a ruling that will be claimed as a victory by the Philippines.

"There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," the Permanent Court of Arbitration said on Tuesday, referring to a demarcation line on a 1947 map of the sea.

The South China Sea is a resource-rich strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped each year.

In the 497-page ruling, the court also found that Chinese law enforcement patrols had risked colliding with Philippine fishing vessels in parts of the sea and caused irreparable damage to coral reefs with construction work.

China, which boycotted the case brought by the Philippines, rejected the ruling, saying its islands had exclusive economic zones and the Chinese people have more than 2,000 years of history of activities there.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country "will not accept" the decision, adding that China "under any circumstances, will not be affected by the award", Xinhua state news agency reported.

READ MORE: Tensions ahead of Hague ruling

Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Beijing, said: "It's fair to assume that the Chinese government knew which way this was going to go.

"Within minutes of the decision, the Chinese government released a fairly detailed statement restating why China always believes these islands belong to them, so now the question is really what is going to happen in the coming days."

China has sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea, including the Spratlys and Paracels, and Beijing's position is consistent with international law and practice, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The United States, which China has accused of fuelling tensions and militarising the region with patrols and exercises, said the ruling should be treated as final and binding.

"We certainly would urge all parties not to use this as an opportunity to engage in escalatory or provocative action," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas, reporting from Manila, said the Philippine government has "called for calm in terms of how to move forward after the decision despite now having gained leverage with this court ruling.

"President Rodrigo Duterte seems to want to retain friendly relationship and open ties with China. However, there is concern among many Filipinos here that its current government might be a little too friendly," Ortigas said.

Perfecto Yasay, the Philippine foreign secretary, said in Manila that the "milestone decision" was an important contribution to efforts in addressing disputes in the sea.

"The Philippines reiterates its abiding commitment to efforts of pursuing the peaceful resolution and management of disputes with the view of promoting and enhancing peace and stability in the region," he said.

The ruling is expected to further increase tensions in the region, where China's increased military assertiveness has spread concern among its smaller neighbours and is a point of confrontation with the US.

"This award represents a devastating legal blow to China's jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea," Ian Storey, of Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, told Reuters.

"China will respond with fury, certainly in terms of rhetoric and possibly through more aggressive actions at sea," he said.

United States diplomatic, military and intelligence officers told Reuters that China's reaction to the court's decision would largely determine how other claimants, as well as the US, respond.

In China, social media users reacted with outrage at the ruling.

"It was ours in the past, is now and will remain so in the future," wrote one user on microblogging site Weibo. "Those who encroach on our China's territory will die no matter how far away they are."

Spreading fast on social media in the Philippines was the use of the term "Chexit" - the public's desire for Chinese vessels to leave nearby waters.

Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan, reporting from northern Luzon, near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, said Filipino fishermen affected by the dispute have welcomed the decision, but are awaiting for Philippine President Duterte's help in improving their livelihood.

 

[bobsm]

Who cares what US says anything? Where were they when China took over the Paracels in 1974? oh, Yes, actually they were there right besides you but didn't have the balls to do anything. lol..

I think, while they are celebrating with champagne in hands, this is the part they tend to purposely forget:

It appears the Philippines' new government, under President Rodrigo Duterte, is already resigned to that outcome, knowing neither it nor its ally the United States, can do anything substantial to force China to abide by the tribunal's decision.

That is, Law without enforcement, is a law not worth the paper it's written on.

 

[Nilgiri]

Is Taiping island or shoal after you read those photos, the first impression?
View attachment 317158
Taiping in 1946

Followings are Taiping in recent years:
View attachment 317160 View attachment 317161 View attachment 317162 View attachment 317163

@Doordie @kankan326 @T-Rex @Rain Man @Tiqiu @Zero_wing @william Huang @hirobo2 @Sinopakfriend @Nilgiri @etc.

Looks like an island to me. Your point?

 

[kankan326]

It's not an ad-hoc judgement but a 496 page report giving details and reasons for the judgement. Read that.

Whatever. The ruling does define the territory issues. You can not deny that. No need words game.

 

[kankan326]

Looks like an island to me. Your point?

The arbitration ruling said there is no island in SCS, all shoals.

 

[Nilgiri]

The arbitration ruling said there is no island in SCS, all shoals.

OK, well I am not sure what the legalese is regarding the definition of islands and shoals.

Many of the names given to the "shoals" have the word island in them it seems anyway.

 

[beijingwalker]

Major Chinese Navy Fleets Military Exercise In South China Sea Live Firing

 

[greenwood]

Looks like an island to me. Your point?

So do I, folks' eyes are bright!

OK, well I am not sure what the legalese is regarding the definition of islands and shoals.

Many of the names given to the "shoals" have the word island in them it seems anyway.

Haha, after you read kankan's post, you start the sophistry for the illegal arbitration award.

 

[Nilgiri]

Haha, after you read kankan's post, you start the sophistry for the illegal arbitration award.

Interpret it however you want.

Has PRC govt come out with any statement saying it is not applicable because of the word shoal instead of island? ...or they are objecting on other grounds?

Will it mean that the actual shoals (that you consider shoals beyond doubt) will be rescinded by PRC now due to the verdict?

 

[beijingwalker]

Yes, tibet wants to be freed of chinese yoke. Will support that

We will support Kashmir to be free of indian yoke, and eastern states and Maoists... wait..just found that there are so many of them..

 

[greenwood]

@kuge Take a rest, play the images identify game, Taiping is island or shoal / reef?

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part8.htm

 

[cochine]

Who cares what US says anything? Where were they when China took over the Paracels in 1974? oh, Yes, actually they were there right besides you but didn't have the balls to do anything. lol..

Japan: Parties are required to comply with Arbitral Tribunal’s award

July 13, 2016 Gracel Ortega World 0



“Japan has consistently advocated the importance of the rule of law and the use of peaceful means, not the use of force or coercion, in seeking settlement of maritime disputes,” Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said after the Arbitral Tribunal instituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) rendered it award regarding the West Philippine Sea dispute.

He added that as the Tribunal’s award is final and legally binding on the parties to the dispute under the provisions of UNCLOS, the parties to this case are required to comply with the award.

“Japan strongly expects that the parties’ compliance with this award will eventually lead to the peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea,” the Japanese Minister added.