Hyping up illegal 'arbitral award' will only undermine stability in South China Sea: China Daily editorial

Leveraging its role as this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines is attempting to hijack the negotiations aimed at concluding the long-awaited Code of Conduct in the South China Sea by pushing for the agreement to be anchored on the illegal and invalid so-called "arbitral ruling" of 2016.

The "ruling" of the Permanent Court of Arbitration is null and void. China did not participate in the "hearing". It neither accepts nor recognizes the prejudicial and politically motivated "award", nor will it ever accept any claim or action arising from it.

The distorting of international law by the "ruling" exposes the Philippines' real intention of pursuing its own selfish interests by fostering divisions and stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.

On Sunday, the United States, Japan and other external forces took the overt step of issuing a joint statement with the Philippines to mark the tenth anniversary of the illegal "arbitral award".

As the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded in a statement, a decade after its issuance, the so-called "ruling" has not only failed to resolve the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines — it has instead been weaponized by Manila to expand its territorial and maritime claims. Far from contributing to peace, the "ruling" has aggravated regional tensions and furnished extra-regional powers with a convenient pretext to meddle in and destabilize the South China Sea. In effect, it has become a perennial stumbling block to China-Philippines ties and a corrosive force against regional stability. Were the "standards" enshrined in this "ruling" to be applied universally, many nations would find themselves stripped of the very basis for their own maritime claims.

In a separate statement on Sunday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded to Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi's remarks "commemorating" the anniversary by raising pointed questions that laid bare Tokyo's hypocrisy in backing Manila. For instance, if the "standards" of that "ruling" were applied consistently, how could Okinotori — nothing more than two rocks of less than 10 square meters in the Pacific — possibly justify a Japanese claim to Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers?

By the "standards" of the "ruling", many of Japan's islands and reefs would likewise have no basis for claiming maritime rights and interests. Since Japan has publicly endorsed the "award", China has every reason to believe that Japan has accepted the same "standards" and voluntarily renounced the corresponding maritime claims.

As a matter of fact, the more Manila seeks to buttress its position with outside backing, the more clearly it reveals the tenuous legal and factual basis upon which its claims rest.

By attempting to make its illegal claims a prerequisite for pushing ahead with the COC talks, Manila seeks to entrench its unlawful gains by coercing the other negotiating parties into compromise.

As long as the Philippines insists that the "award" is valid and should be anchored with the COC, there will be no way to resolve the disagreements that exist over such issues as the COC's applicable maritime scope and dispute settlement mechanism provisions. This makes it impossible for any progress to be made in talks over the COC. With this major obstacle unresolved, the claim by the Philippines that the COC can be concluded before the end of this year is both empty and irresponsible.

China is committed to properly managing maritime differences in the region through bilateral dialogue with the parties directly involved. At the same time, the country will continue firmly defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. Any attempt to challenge China's lawful rights and interests and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea is doomed to fail.