China refuses to honor South China Sea ruling

MANILA, Philippines — Still refusing to honor The Hague’s ruling as “final” and “indisputable,” China has warned that it would respond to attempts to implement the ruling on the South China Sea arbitration.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said “China neither accepts nor recognizes it and will never accept any claim or action based on the award.”

In a landmark ruling on July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said there was no evidence that China had exercised exclusive control historically over the South China Sea and awarded the case to the Philippines.

But Beijing’s position since then has been to deflect the ruling, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry calling the arbitration illegal, null and void, and a violation of international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Wang went on to claim that China’s position has received “broad understanding and support from the international community.”

“Those who attempt to infringe on China’s sovereignty, rights and interests by implementing this illegal award will not succeed. China will respond to such attempts in accordance with law,” he said.

In the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo released a statement on the sixth anniversary of the award last Tuesday, saying the South China Sea arbitration is “final” and “indisputable.”

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for the ruling of the arbitral tribunal.

“The US, as a non-regional country, has been ignoring the history and facts of the South China Sea issue and violated and distorted international law. It has broken its public commitment of taking no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, and sought to drive a wedge between regional countries and undermine peace and stability in the region,” Wang said.

He said that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and working actively to advance the consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

Wang insisted that it has been agreed by all sides that the South China Sea issue should be handled following the dual-track approach – maritime disputes should be handled properly by countries directly concerned through dialogue and consultation, and peace and stability should be jointly safeguarded by China and the ASEAN countries.

Phl, US armies strengthen interoperability

Meanwhile, the armies of the Philippines and the US are strengthening their logistics support interoperability.
This week the two armies conducted a three-day Logistics Subject Matter Expert Exchange (LOGSMEE), said Philippine Army spokesperson, Col. Xerxes Trinidad.

The bilateral activity, which started last Tuesday, is aimed at enhancing interoperability between the two sides in logistics operations.

“[The activity will also push the sides to share] best practices on logistics operations in support of combined arms operations and [sustain] strong relations among logisticians of both armies,” Trinidad said.

The program was headed by Col. Jesus Jeffrey Grapa of the 1st Logistics Support Group of the Army Support Command, and Col. Tracy Lanier, deputy commander of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command of the US Army. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva