China today rejected a UN tribunal's arbitration on the disputed South China Sea saying it had no jurisdiction over the case even as Beijing asserted it would not accept any third-party settlement of territorial disputes.
"China's territorial sovereignty should be decided by all the Chinese people, and no other people or organisation has the right to handle it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told media here.
He was replying to a question on the recent release of a court hearing record by an international tribunal in the Hague lodged by the Philippines as China brushed aside the UN tribunal arbitrating the case saying that it will not accept its verdict in the matter.
Hong said China's position on the South China Sea stands on a solid international legal base and will remain unchanged.
He said at the hearing, the Philippines which filed the petition ignored facts, international law and justice, and attempted to deny China's sovereignty over the South China Sea (SCS) islands.
The Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS) established at the request of the Philippines has no jurisdiction over the case, Hong said.
The tribunal admitted the Philippines' petition overruling China's objections.
China will not accept any third-party settlements of territorial disputes, he said urging the Philippines to change course and return to the track of negotiations.
China claims almost the whole of the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS). Its claim, however, is strongly contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
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Meanwhile, state-run Chinese daily Global Times said US actions of sending B-52 bombers and ships into the disputed sea would prompt militarisation of the artificial islands being developed by China.
"The moves of the US will undoubtedly propel China to accelerate militarising its newly built islands and make them capable of coping with direct military threat from the US.
"As the Chinese mainland is far from this area and China only has one aircraft carrier, it would be too late for China to send fighter jets from the mainland when US jets intrude into the airspace of the islands. The only choice is to deploy the fighter jets on these islands," it said.
"China has stressed that these islands serve a peaceful purpose, but the premise of such assertion is that no external military force threatens their security. The US military is undermining this premise, and China should carry out corresponding security deployment," it said.
"Nowadays US warplanes and bombers fly over nearby waters and airspace at will. If China does not take due measures, it can be implied that it tacitly approves such hostile actions. This in turn will jeopardise the country's SCS strategy.
"China therefore has no other options, but to build up its military capability on those islands. In that case, next time when the US warplanes come over again, there will be Chinese military planes taking off and safeguarding our sovereignty.
"There is worry that militarisation of the islands will bring more pressure on China from the international community and some Southeast Asian countries will especially be unhappy about it.
"But it is the US military provocations that are propelling China to do so. China's countermeasures will be morally correct. They may further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, but will not tarnish China's international image," it said.
"If all parties wish for a peaceful SCS, they should fulfil their responsibilities rather than providing assistance to the US which intends to intrude China's island de-militarisation.
The US' exercise of freedom of navigation in the SCS should not threaten the security of Chinese facilities. In view of China's overall military capability and national strength, the US should renounce its arrogance," it said.
