Chinese Ambassador to the US Rejects PCA Ruling

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai used harsh words to protest and reject the ruling announced by the PCA in the East Sea lawsuit.

According toStraits TimesDespite such "big words", Mr. Cui later softened his tone and suggested that "the door is still open for all parties to participate in negotiations and consultations".

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai. AP photo.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on July 12 after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) announced its ruling on the Philippines' lawsuit against China in the East Sea, Mr. Cui again cited the excuses that the Chinese Foreign Ministry had previously given to defend its decision to reject the Court's ruling.

Mr. Thoi emphasized that the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague does not have legal jurisdiction to hear this case because “the nature of the issue is a territorial dispute and this issue is not within the scope of consideration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In fact, in this case, the Philippines only wants the PCA to clarify China's nine-dash line claim and determine the nature of the entities in the East Sea - which are within the scope of UNCLOS.

Mr. Cui even had harsh words aimed at the PCA, saying that the Court had failed to issue a verdict in an "unprofessional manner" and "in disregard of China's territorial integrity".

However, this statement is very forced because while the Arbitral Tribunal (with the PCA as its secretary) fully implemented the trial process and presented convincing arguments for its ruling, China repeatedly denied its legality and declared a boycott of the trial.

Mr. Cui “accused” that the lawsuit initiated by the Philippines was “not showing goodwill” towards China and was “an attempt to use legal tools for political purposes”.

However, it should be noted that the Philippines pursued a 17-year negotiation process with China without achieving any concrete results before deciding to file a lawsuit.

The Chinese ambassador to the US threatened that the PCA's ruling would "greatly damage the international community's efforts to urge the parties to sit at the negotiating table to find a solution to the dispute."

Mr. Cui stated that China is still persistently pursuing diplomatic efforts to resolve disputes in the East Sea: "We believe that China and relevant parties can resolve disputes in the coming time through dialogue and consultation"./.

According to VOV