Mr. Hun Sen declared that he does not support the PCA's ruling.

Mr. Hun Sen announced yesterday that he will not support the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the "cow tongue line" lawsuit because he believes the lawsuit is "political".

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: AFP

"This is not a matter of law, it is purely political. I will not support any court ruling," AFP quoted the Cambodian prime minister as saying yesterday.

The PCA is expected to issue a ruling on the Philippines’ case against China’s unreasonable nine-dash line in the East Sea this month. Observers say the ruling will be in Manila’s favor.

Mr. Hun Sen also denied yesterday the accusation that Phnom Penh was under pressure from Beijing and thus "contributed" to influencingASEAN joint statement last week.

He described the accusation that Phnom Penh was making things difficult for the joint statement as "unacceptable", "r"very unfair to Cambodia" and"taking advantage of Cambodia to fight against China".

Although ASEAN Foreign Ministers in their meeting last week with their Chinese counterpart in Kunming still issued a joint statement, this eventended in acrimony when the association was said to be "divided" over the South China Sea issue. After Malaysia issued a joint statement expressing "serious concerns" about construction activities in the South China Sea, the document was withdrawn.

Several newspapers, citing ASEAN diplomatic sources, said Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar were among the countries that opposed the initial statement.

This incident recalls the incident in 2012, when ASEAN Foreign Ministers failed to issue a joint statement for the first time when meeting in Phnom Penh, during Cambodia's ASEAN chairmanship year.

China illegally claims sovereignty over most of the East Sea, despite opposition from the international community. This country has massively reclaimed and renovated 7 reefs in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago, turning them into artificial islands and illegally building facilities on them. Since the beginning of this year, Beijing has also clearly shown its intention to militarize by deploying missile systems, radars and fighter jets in the East Sea.

China is said to be trying to gain support from countries before the Permanent Court of Arbitration becomes law under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).1982issued a ruling on the "nine-dash line" lawsuit filed by the Philippines. Beijing did not participate in the trial and said it would not recognize any ruling even though it is a member of UNCLOS and is obliged by law to implement the court's rulings.

According to VNE