China: US, EU should stop pushing PH from pursuing arbitration in sea row

MANILA, Philippines — China urged the United States and the European Union to refrain from encouraging the Philippines to pursue further arbitration.

In a press conference on Friday, coinciding with the eighth anniversary of the arbitral ruling that favored Manila in its territorial dispute with Beijing on parts of the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said it was hypocritical to selectively apply international law with double standards.

“This is hypocrisy, double standard, and selective application of international law. Second, the US and the EU disregard the history and facts on the South China Sea issue, act against the UN Charter, and misinterpret the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and other international laws,” Lin said.

“Their position and proposition do not hold water. Third, the US has returned to its public commitment of not taking a position on sovereignty issues in the South China Sea,” he said.

China emphasized the need for regional peace and stability and criticized the positions taken by the US, EU, and other parties in support of the arbitral award.

According to the Chinese spokesman, the US encouraged the Philippines to launch the arbitration on the South China Sea and blatantly released a statement to endorse the award.

“This is political manipulation aimed at using allies to destabilize the South China Sea and the region and advance the nefarious agenda of going after China,” he said.

Lin argued that the Philippines initiated the arbitration case unilaterally in breach of its commitment to China. The matters raised were beyond the jurisdiction of the arbitral court set up temporarily at the request of the Philippines.

“The tribunal took the case anyway and delivered an illegal, null, and void ruling. The Philippines breached the common understanding it had reached with China on resolving the disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral consultation and negotiation,” he said.

Lin said China has never accepted or taken part in the case. The arbitral tribunal violated the principle of state consent and acted against Unclos and general international law.

“The Philippines let itself fall into the trap set by the US and some Western countries, be fettered, and become certain countries’ tools to gang up on China—all at the cost of the Philippines’ relations with China,” Lin added.