China vows ‘decisive response’ to provocations

BEIJING – China yesterday threatened a “decisive response” to any provocations in the South China Sea, following an international tribunal ruling against its extensive claims in the disputed area.

The Asian giant has reacted furiously to the verdict issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal in The Hague, which on Tuesday sided with the Philippines in its ruling that China had no grounds for its claims in the strategically vital waterway.

“If anyone wants to take any provocative action against China’s security interests based on the award, China will make a decisive response,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

He said the tribunal had been “unlawful” and the ruling would “not have any effect on China’s existing policy.”

China has insisted that it will ignore the decision while warning its rivals that increasing pressure on the issue could turn the resource-rich waters into a “cradle of war.”

It justifies its sovereignty claims by saying it was the first to have discovered, named and exploited the sea, and outlines its claims for most of the waterway using a vague map made up of nine dashes that emerged in the 1940s.

Those claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China has also in recent years built giant artificial islands capable of hosting military installations and airstrips in the Spratlys archipelago, one of the biggest groups of features in the sea.

The Philippines brought the case against China in 2013, asking the court to rule that Beijing’s claims to much of the territory in the sea are invalid and violate the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Aside from stating that China’s historical rights were without “legal basis,” the tribunal ruled that its artificial island building and the blocking of Filipino fishermen at Panatag ( Scarborough) Shoal were unlawful.

Beijing boycot- ted the PCA proceedings, saying the court had no jurisdiction to rule on the issues, and has mounted a huge diplomatic and publicity drive to try to discredit the tribunal and its decision.

The Hague judges bribed?

After getting a legal rebuff on its expansive maritime claim, China is now accusing the judges of a UN- backed court of accepting bribes from the Philippine government.

Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said the Philippine government bribed the judges of the Permanent Court of Arbitration so it could get a favorable decision on its case contesting China’s nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.

He did not go into details when asked if the Chinese believed bribery may have made the judges rule in favor of Manila.

The foreign ministry’s Lu Kang also said the five judges made money from issuing a ruling in favor of the Philippines.

“As for the five judges in this case, they made money, they were paid by the Philippines. I figure it necessary to make that clear,” Lu said in a press conference in Beijing.

The tribunal was constituted in June 2013 to handle the case filed by the Philippines, in accordance with procedures under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The tribunal was composed of Judge Thomas Mensah of Ghana, Judge Jean-Pierre Cot of France, Judge Stanislaw Pawlak of Poland, professor Alfred H.A. Soons of the Netherlands and Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum of Germany. Mensah served as president of the Tribunal.

Lu questioned the legitimacy of the PCA, calling it illegal and had nothing to do with the UN-affiliated International Court of Justice also based in The Hague. Judges of the ICJ and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea are paid by the UN to ensure their independence and impartiality.

Liu also said China has the right to declare an air defense identification zone ( ADIZ) over the South China Sea if it felt threatened.