Arbitral award 'seriously violates' international law, says China

China has maintained its opposition to the 2016 ruling by an arbitral tribunal that rejected its sweeping claims to the South China Sea.

At a news conference on Wednesday, a day after the Philippines called the ruling "final" and "indisputable," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the decision violated international law.

"I would like to state that China’s position on the South China Sea arbitration is consistent and clear," Wang said when asked to respond to Manila's latest assertion of the ruling.

"The so-called award of the South China Sea arbitration seriously violates international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is illegal, null and void. China neither accepts nor recognizes it and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. By doing so, we are upholding international rule of law," he added.

Wang also claimed that "China’s position has received broad understanding and support from the international community."

"Those who attempt to infringe on China’s sovereignty, rights and interests by implementing this illegal award will not succeed. China will respond to such attempts in accordance with law," the Chinese official said.

On July 12, 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration released a 501-page ruling on the lawsuit brought by the Philippines, declaring China's historical claim over nearly the entire waters as illegal under the 1982 UNCLOS, considered the constitution of the seas.

The arbitral tribunal, however, has no enforcement power.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said that the ruling was final and could no longer be denied by anyone.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, called on China to stop aggressive and provocative acts in the South China Sea, warning that any attack on the Philippines would trigger a response from the US.

The Philippines and the US have a 71-year-old defense accord, called the Mutual Defense Treaty, that binds America to defend its Asian ally from aggression.

During the press conference, Wang criticized the US for supposedly breaking its public commitment to not take sides on the sovereignty claims in the disputed waters.

"This is extremely irresponsible. We urge the US to respect China’s sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea, stop stirring up trouble and stop using the South China Sea issue to sow discord between regional countries," he said.

Wang added that China and the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) are "working actively to advance the consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea."

"It has been agreed by all sides that the South China Sea issue should be handled following the dual-track approach, namely, maritime disputes should be handled properly by countries directly concerned through dialogue and consultation and peace and stability should be jointly safeguarded by China and the ASEAN countries," he said.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich waters. —VBL, GMA News