Chang Hua, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the UAE

In January 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated compulsory arbitration proceedings with respect to the disputes with China in the South China Sea. The Philippines unilaterally initiated the arbitration, disregarding the consensus between China and the Philippines on settling relevant disputes through negotiations and consultations, the solemn commitment of the Philippines in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and the legitimate rights that China enjoys as a sovereign state and a contracting party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”) to independently choose dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures. It abused the compulsory procedures for dispute settlement under the Convention in order to cover up the territorial and maritime delimitation nature of the disputes between China and the Philippines with the so-called “interpretation and application of the Convention”, to use the Convention as a pretext to negate the obligation under the UN Charter to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and to mislead the public and defend its illegal occupation of some maritime features of China’s Nansha Islands. The act of the Philippines constitutes a grave threat to peace and stability in the region.

The islands in the South China Sea have been Chinese territory since ancient times. The successive Chinese governments have exercised jurisdiction over them through administrative management, military navigation, production and operation. Japan seized Xisha and Nansha Islands after it launched the war of aggression against China. Both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation state in explicit terms that all the territories stolen from China by Japan shall be returned to China. Since the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, China has recovered Xisha and Nansha Islands, and stationed troops and set up various military and civil facilities on the islands. Thus, in terms of both law and facts, China has resumed its sovereignty over these islands in the South China Sea.

The Philippines’ South China Sea arbitration case represents a dangerous tendency in current international relations. Some countries try to use UNCLOS as the only standard and deny the principle that territorial sovereignty is sacred and inviolable established under international law, including the UN Charter. They attempt to cover up the fact that they are illegally occupying China’s islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands. Inviolability of territorial sovereignty is the basic norm in international exchanges and a basic principle in international law. It is the bedrock for stable international relations.

The Philippines’ South China Sea arbitration is a political farce under a legal cloak. It can neither change the “old order” nor create a “new reality”. China does not accept nor recognize the arbitration, both in a legal sense and in action. Whatever the ultimate result of the arbitration case, China will not accept or recognize its ruling, let alone implement it. China will never allow any country to negotiate with China about the South China Sea issue based on that ruling. The Philippines dreams about denying China its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and tarnishing China’s image in the world through this arbitration case. Such attempt is doomed to fail.