China's nonacceptance and nonrecognition of the so-called "2016 South China Sea arbitration award" demonstrate its opposition to the abuse of law and its commitment to upholding the international rule of law, participants said on Monday at a forum in Hong Kong.
"The conduct of the arbitral tribunal and the 'award' seriously deviate from international law and the general practice of international arbitration," Qi Dahai, director-general of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told the Roundtable Dialogue on South China Sea Security.
On July 12, 2016, an ad hoc arbitral tribunal, unilaterally initiated by the Philippines and backed by external meddling, issued a so-called "award" on the South China Sea in favor of the Philippines. China immediately declared the "award" null and void, stating that it has no binding force.
Calling the "arbitration" a unilateral move for political purposes, Qi said that the tribunal set a pernicious precedent.
He said that it has negatively affected the international rule of law, undermining the purpose of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes and infringing upon China's legitimate rights as a sovereign state.
