PRESIDENT Xi Jinping said China will not accept any proposition or action based on the award issued yesterday by the South China Sea arbitral tribunal unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine Government.

    Xi said China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea, under any circumstances, will not be affected by the award.

    Xi made the remarks yesterday while meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Beijing.

    The arbitration is a political farce made under the pretext of law, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday.

    “The award is null and void and has no binding force,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

    The statement criticized that the conduct of the arbitral tribunal and its award seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration, completely deviate from the object and purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to promote peaceful settlement of disputes, infringe upon China’s legitimate rights, and are unjust and unlawful.

    China is firmly opposed to the invasion and illegal occupation by certain states of some islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Qundao (the Nansha Islands), and activities infringing upon China’s rights and interests in relevant maritime areas under China’s jurisdiction, it said.

    China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands), consisting of Dongsha Qundao (the Dongsha Islands), Xisha Qundao (the Xisha Islands), Zhongsha Qundao (the Zhongsha Islands) and Nansha Qundao.

    China has internal waters, territorial sea and contiguous zone, based on Nanhai Zhudao. China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, based on Nanhai Zhudao, and has historic rights in the South China Sea, according to the statement.

    In a press conference before the arbitration award, Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said Chinese military will resolutely protect the country’s national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests, and will address threats and challenges.

    The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration case issued its final award yesterday, amid a global chorus that the panel has no jurisdiction.

    In a press release accompanying the 479-page award, the five-member tribunal offered a summary of its decisions, which sweepingly side with the claims filed by the administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III.

    More than 60 countries and international organizations, as well as over 130 foreign political parties and groups, have voiced support for China’s principled position, far outnumbering those backing the assertions of the Aquino administration and the United States, which is widely considered a primary instigator behind the arbitration case.

    (Xinhua)