China to ignore court ruling over South China Sea dispute

PanARMENIAN.Net - China said it will ignore a ruling expected on Tuesday, July 12 by an arbitration court in The Hague in a case in which the Philippines is challenging Beijing's right to exploit resources across the South China Sea, Reuters reports.

China has boycotted the hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, saying it does not have jurisdiction over the dispute.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked how China would be getting the ruling, said it would have nothing to do with the court.

"We won't accept any of their so-called materials, no matter what they are," Lu told reporters.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said the "law-abusing tribunal" had issued an "ill-founded award." In a dispatch from Manila, it said the award was made "amid a global chorus that as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void".

The ruling stands to ramp up tensions in the region, where China's increased military assertiveness has worried its smaller neighbors and is a point of confrontation with the United States, Reuters says.

China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

The United States and China often conduct military exercises in the area and regularly accuse each other of militarizing the region.

"No matter what kind of ruling is to be made, Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," China's Defense Ministry said in a bilingual Chinese and English statement.