CHINA released yesterday a Position Paper of the government on the matter of jurisdiction in the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines.

    Xu Hong, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Treaty and Law, said the Philippines was “obstinately pushing forward arbitration procedures” and urged it to negotiate with China instead. He told reporters that China was committed to rejecting and not participating in the arbitration proceedings.

    However the arbitration works, “it won’t change the history or the facts of China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea islands as well as the adjacent waters,” Xu said.

    The Position Paper released yesterday reiterates China’s firm stance that territorial sovereignty is beyond the scope of the tribunal. It said China’s rejection of arbitration is in line with international law and that China and the Philippines have previously agreed to settle territorial disputes through negotiations.

    On Jan. 22, 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated compulsory arbitration proceedings with respect to the relevant issues between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Since then, the Philippines has obstinately pushed for the aforementioned arbitration proceedings despite repeated objections by China.(SD-Xinhua)