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07-14-2016, 04:27 AM
BEIJING: China warned rivals on Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a "cradle of war" and threatened an air defence zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid.
The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, and other claimants in their decades-long disputes with China over the resource-rich waters.
China reacted furiously to Tuesday’s decision, insisting it had historical rights over the sea while launching a volley of thinly veiled warnings at the United States and other critical nations.
"Do **t turn the South China Sea into a cradle of war," vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters in Beijing, as he described the ruling as waste paper.
Liu also said China had "the right" to establish an air defence identification zone over the sea, which would give the Chinese military authority over foreign aircraft.
A similar zone set up in 2013 in the East China Sea riled Japan, the United States and its allies.
"Whether we need to set up one in the South China Sea depends on the level of threat we receive," he said.
"We hope other countries will **t take the chance to blackmail China."
The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, was even more blunt.
"It will certainly intensify conflicts and even confrontation," Cui said in Washington on Tuesday.
And the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, said on Wednesday that China was prepared to take "all measures necessary" to protect its interests.
China 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.
Manila, under previous president Benig** Aqui**, launched the legal case in 2013 after China took control of Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground within the Philippines’ exclusive eco**mic zone and far away from the nearest major Chinese landmass.
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.
Aside from stating that China’s historical rights were without "legal basis", the tribunal ruled that its artificial island building and the blocking of Filipi** fishermen at Scarborough Shoal were unlawful.
The Philippines, under new President Rodrigo Duterte, declined to celebrate the verdict.
"We have to be magnanimous in victory," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told reporters in Manila on Wednesday.
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The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, and other claimants in their decades-long disputes with China over the resource-rich waters.
China reacted furiously to Tuesday’s decision, insisting it had historical rights over the sea while launching a volley of thinly veiled warnings at the United States and other critical nations.
"Do **t turn the South China Sea into a cradle of war," vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters in Beijing, as he described the ruling as waste paper.
Liu also said China had "the right" to establish an air defence identification zone over the sea, which would give the Chinese military authority over foreign aircraft.
A similar zone set up in 2013 in the East China Sea riled Japan, the United States and its allies.
"Whether we need to set up one in the South China Sea depends on the level of threat we receive," he said.
"We hope other countries will **t take the chance to blackmail China."
The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, was even more blunt.
"It will certainly intensify conflicts and even confrontation," Cui said in Washington on Tuesday.
And the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, said on Wednesday that China was prepared to take "all measures necessary" to protect its interests.
China 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.
Manila, under previous president Benig** Aqui**, launched the legal case in 2013 after China took control of Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground within the Philippines’ exclusive eco**mic zone and far away from the nearest major Chinese landmass.
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.
Aside from stating that China’s historical rights were without "legal basis", the tribunal ruled that its artificial island building and the blocking of Filipi** fishermen at Scarborough Shoal were unlawful.
The Philippines, under new President Rodrigo Duterte, declined to celebrate the verdict.
"We have to be magnanimous in victory," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told reporters in Manila on Wednesday.
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