2016年CRI China Rejects Arbitration on South China Sea

 

The UN Court of Arbitration¹ is due to release the findings of its Philippine-initiated probe into the dispute over the Nansha Islands in the coming few weeks.

Addressing its impending² release, Ouyang Yujing, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry³'s Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, is taking issue with the Philippines for unilaterally launching the arbitration process in the first place in 2013.

"China and Philippines reached consensus⁴ on the settlement of issues in the South China Sea through bilateral⁵ negotiations⁶. We have said we won't allow the dispute to be settled through other dispute settlement procedures. Therefore the arbitration court has no jurisdiction⁷ on the dispute between China and the Philippines. This arbitration case has been illegal from the start."

But while saying the Chinese side will not accept the results of the arbitration panel, regardless of whether it's for or against China, Ouyang Yujing says the door remains⁸ open for one-on-one negotiations.

"Look, it's not as though we don't want to resolve the dispute in the South China Sea. We do. But what we want is to resolve the territorial⁹ dispute through direct negotiations, as we have clearly stated in our agreements with the Philippines and through the Declaration of Conduct agreement with ASEAN."

Responding to suggestions China would be in violation¹⁰ of international law by not adhering to any ruling by the UN Arbitration Panel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei suggests it's the Philippines which has been breaking international law.

"The core of the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines is that the latter is attempting to harm China's interests in the Nansha Islands. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea doesn't apply to this case. China firmly opposes a certain country's taking hostage the international rule of law for its own selfish gains. They are violating the law under the guise¹¹ of the 'rule of law,' and China won't accept any of these acts."

Chinese authorities have refused to take part in the UN arbitration panel hearings.

However, despite the entrenched¹² positions on both sides right now, there may be a window opening for movement on the Philippine side.

The current front-runner to replace outgoing Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in next week's elections, Roderigo Duterte, is on-record saying he's willing to open direct negotiations with China to bring the dispute to a resolution.

This is something the outgoing Aquino has refused to do.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

1 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

2 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。

12 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。