Joy, ire at S China Sea verdict

MANILA: Dozens of Filipinos rallying in Manila jumped in joy, wept and waved Philippine flags after an international tribunal sided with their country against China’s

MANILA: Dozens of Filipinos rallying in Manila jumped in joy, wept and waved Philippine flags after an international tribunal sided with their country against China’s claims on the South China Sea.

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As expected, China rejected the ruling , dismissing it as “null and void.” Beijing said it will not accept or recognise the verdict which it described as having “no binding force”.

Taiwan, another claimant, also said it does not accept the tribunal’ s ruling, adding the decision on Itu Aba, Taipei’ s sole holding in the disputed Spratly Islands, had “seriously impaired” its territorial rights.

The arbitration court in The Hague ruled that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines with its actions there.

Vietnam, whose claims on the sea also overlapped with China’ s, welcomed the tribunal ruling. It said the ruling issued by he Permanent Court of Arbitration in supports the settlement of such disputes through diplomatic and legal processes.

In Manila, one person held up a poster that said: “Philippine sovereignty, non-negotiable.”

Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida said the tribunal’ s decision is “final and legally binding” and that the two sides should comply with it.

Japan has its own territorial disputes with China over a set of islands in the East China Sea, and has raised concerns over Beijing’s military assertiveness in the regional waters.

He said Japan supports the rule of law and the use of peaceful means, not the use of force or coercion, in seeking settlement of maritime disputes.

Earlier in the day, rival demonstrators tried to drown out one another in a shouting match outside these at of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.