“Our position is crystal clear: we will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spoeksperson Hong Lei said in a press conference on Tuesday. FMPRC
MANILA, Philippines – Beijing on Tuesday insisted that the Philippines breached the bilateral consensus between the two countries as it filed an arbitration case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations.
“In an attempt to negate China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, the Philippine side unilaterally initiated the arbitration in breach of bilateral consensus with China and its commitment in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press conference.
Hong maintained that China will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration case in connection to the disputed South China Sea.
The first round of oral arguments on merits before the arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands has started on Tuesday and will last until November 30.
Malacañang assured that the Philippine delegation, headed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, is fully prepared to present the country’s case before the tribunal.
Meanwhile, China is set to install facilities on islands and reefs in the disputed sea to fulfill its “international responsibility and offer better public goods and services to countries in the region.”