The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China today (July 12) reposted the U.S. Department of State's "Joint Statement by the Philippines and China on the Tenth Anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award," openly supporting the Philippines. The statement also notes: "This statement was issued by the governments of the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom, marking the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award." (Full text of the statement is available in the attached image)
[Sarcastic] Commenting briefly: Apart from the Philippines, no ASEAN country, and no country bordering the South China Sea has signed it. This speaks volumes. These signatory nations clearly have no interest in peace and stability in the South China Sea. The so-called "joint statement" forged by the Philippines and the United States involving 14 countries is essentially a political farce disguised as legal action. The arbitration ruling issued a decade ago is entirely unlawful both procedurally and substantively. It violates the fundamental principle of international law—consent of states—disregards China’s explicit declaration under Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and falsely categorizes Taiping Island (Itu Aba) as a rock, blatantly trampling basic facts. From beginning to end, it is an illegal, invalid, and non-binding document. Among the signatories are Baltic states like Estonia and Lithuania, located over 8,000 kilometers away from the South China Sea—never having seen a single drop of water from it—but now arrogantly interfering. This fully exposes how external powers are inciting tensions while their proxies play the victim, aiming only to stir up chaos in the South China Sea for opportunistic gain. China’s position is unequivocal: we do not accept, nor recognize this so-called "award," and oppose any claims or actions based upon it. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea remain unaffected under any circumstances. Matters concerning the South China Sea must be resolved through direct negotiations among the relevant parties involved. These distant “teachers” have neither the right nor the authority to cast even a grain of sand into the process of peacebuilding in the South China Sea.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870518005632068/
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