China threatens harsh measures if there is interference in South China Sea

BEIJING: China on Wednesday made desperate efforts to get Philippines to discard the ruing of a UN tribunal on the South China Sea dispute, and come to the negotiating table. At the same time, Chinese vice minister for foreign affairs, Liu Zhenmin, warned other countries that any attempt to interfere in the dispute would among to turning the region into "a cradle of war".

Chinese foreign ministry ranted against a "dozen countries" who were advising Beijing to accept the ruling of the UN tribunal. The tribunal has rejected China's claims over 90 percent of the South China Sea. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that world opinion was overwhelmingly with China, and the dozen-odd countries critising Beijing did not represent the international community. He was referring to the U.S. and several European countries that want China to uphold the verdict.

But the ministry took a cautious view of India's statement asking China and other parties in the dispute to show respect for the UN Convention for the Law of the Seas.

"In those public statements made by relevent governments, it is said that the dispute should be resolved by fully complying with the international law," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said adding, "I think it is the same with what the Chinese government is upholding".

In China's view, rejecting the ruling amounts to upholding the international law because it believes that the tribunal went out of his scope and powers in judging this case. Beijing says the tribunal has now powers to adjucate in an issue involving territorial dispute.

The Chinese vice minister signalled harsh measures from Beijing if it did not have its way in the dispute. Liu said China has the right to declare the South China Sea region as its Air Defense Zone, and control the movement of overhead flights, because the area belonged to it. China had earlier declared an area in the East China Sea as its air defence zone following disputes over certain islands with Japan.

Liu, China's vice minister for foreign affairs, even questioned the integriety and independence of the members of the arbitration panel saying they offered "paid service". "They are paid, probably, by Philippines," he said.

He also pointed out that four of the five members of the panel were selected by a Japanese career diplomat, who was serving at the United Nations at that time, and one of them was picked by Philippines. Japan is engaged in another territorial dispute with China over isands in the East China Sea. China could not pick its own member on the panel, which a claiment is entitled to do, because it had boycotted the tribunal in 2013.

China had given up its right, as a claiment to select a panel member, when it boycotted the tribunal. At his press conference this morning,

Liu repeatedly called on Philippines to return to the negotiating table while discarding the tribunal report as a piece of "garbage" or shelving it. China is also desperate to ensure that the other countries involved in the dispute do not openly support the tribunal's ruling. Vietnam has already welcomed the ruling, and reitered its claim over a part of the South China Sea.

Liu admitted that the tribunal's ruling had caused some disturbances in China's relationship with the ASEAN nations but it had not been seriously hampered. China wants to resolve the dispute individually with the five clamants in the South China Sea dispute--Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei--without allowing a third party like a UN tribunal to have a say.

The vice minister said that the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which was signed by China and other claiments, would remain intact even after the report by the tribunal. Beijing is expected to lean heavily on the DOC to take forward its idea of one-to-one negotiations between the parties in dispute.