Fourteen countries, including the US, Japan and the Philippines, issued a joint statement rejecting China's sovereignty claims over the South China Sea. The statement stressed that these claims have no legal basis.
The joint statement was made on the 10th anniversary of a historic ruling by an international court on the South China Sea. In 2016, the Philippines brought a case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and obtained a ruling that China's expansive sovereignty claims were not based on international law. Beijing has consistently rejected that ruling.
The signatory countries said the arbitral ruling issued a decade ago was a significant milestone, and that it is final and legally binding. In recent years, a series of maritime clashes have occurred between the Philippines and China, with Manila accusing Beijing of "dangerous maneuvers" in its exclusive economic zone.
In addition to the US, Japan and the Philippines, the statement was also signed by Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania and Slovenia.
China's harsh response
China's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, reiterated its sovereignty claims over the South China Sea and argued that the cause of the tension was the intensification of military activities by external forces, including the US.
The ministry's statement said: "The so-called ruling is nothing but a worthless piece of paper; it is illegal, invalid and null, and has no binding force." It called on the relevant countries to respect China's territorial and maritime rights and to stop actions that undermine regional stability.
The ministry also announced that it had summoned a senior official from Japan's Embassy in Beijing to protest the Japanese Foreign Minister's remarks on the anniversary of the ruling and the joint statement. China stated it would respond with determination and strength to what it described as Japanese provocations, and announced it had lodged complaints with Tokyo on various issues, including Taiwan.
