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South China Sea
ChinaDiplomacy

South China Sea: Beijing’s foreign minister urges claimants to ‘jointly resist’ US

  • Wang Yi tells symposium nations should oppose ‘abuse of arbitration’ regarding maritime conflict and dispute
  • Scholars from 20 countries and regions discussed maritime affairs and global ocean governance around the disputed waterway

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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told a symposium on maritime cooperation and ocean governance that conflict and disputes must be solved through peaceful methods. Photo: AFP
Stella Chenin Hong KongandAmber Wangin Beijing
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged claimants to the disputed South China Sea not to use or threaten to use force and to “jointly resist” the United States – though he did not refer to the US by name – provoking tensions.
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Wang delivered the comments in a pre-recorded online address to the Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance in Hainan on Thursday morning.

Wang also stressed that nations should oppose “the abuse of arbitration” regarding maritime conflict and dispute, and should avoid imposing their unilateral standpoint on other nations.

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Fishermen in South China Sea are at the centre of territorial crossfires

Fishermen in South China Sea are at the centre of territorial crossfires

“We should discuss and negotiate maritime business between claimant nations. We must maintain the maritime order based on international law and the complete, accurate and comprehensive interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Wang said.

Although not explicitly stated, Wang’s mention of “the abuse of arbitration” alludes to the 2016 ruling by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague over China’s “invalid nine-dash line claim” on territory in the South China Sea.

The Hague ruled that China has no historic rights to obtain resources in the South China Sea based on its “nine-dash line” and granted the Philippines sovereign rights to access resources in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

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China rejected the decision and published a white paper to elaborate on its position and criticise the Philippines for abusing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for its own territorial purpose.

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