BEIJING SLAMS PHILIPPINES OVER SOUTH CHINA SEA APPEAL

WASHINGTON China Thursday accused the U. S.- allied Philippines of “political provocation” in seeking international arbitration over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the decision by Philippine leaders to lodge a case with a tribunal in The Hague was “irresponsible to the Filipino people and the future of the Philippines.” China has refused to participate in the proceedings. A ruling is expected this year, after the tribunal decided last October it could hear the case. Manila initiated arbitration in early 2013 after Beijing refused to withdraw its ships from a disputed shoal under a U.S-.brokered deal. It contends that China’s massive territorial claims in the strategic waters do not conform with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and should be declared invalid. The Philippines also asserts that some Chinese-occupied reefs and shoals do not generate, or create a claim to, territorial waters