2016年CRI Chinese Diplomat Says South China Sea Tribunal Has No Jurisdiction

 

Xu Hong, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's director general of treaties and law was speaking at a news conference called to explain China's position on the deliberations in The Hague.

Xu said any application for arbitration¹ had to meet at least four preconditions, and noted² that the Philippines had not met any of them.

If the subject matter is beyond the scope of the UNCLOS, he said, then the dispute shall not be settled by compulsory³ arbitration

Xu said that on January 23, 2013, one day after the arbitration process was began, the Philippines issued a document that clearly stated that the arbitration was about sovereignty.

The official further pointed⁴ out that any signatory to the UNCLOS may declare that it will not accept compulsory arbitration with respect to disputes concerning, among other things, maritime⁵ delimitation.

China has declared that compulsory dispute settlement procedures do not apply to maritime delimitation, therefore, Xu says, the Philippines was wrong to have gone to arbitration.

Secondly⁶, Xu said, in the case that disputing parties have agreed on other means of settlement, compulsory arbitration is not an option.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, or DOC, in 2002.

Article four of the DOC says all sides, including the Philippines, agreed to settle territorial⁷ disputes through negotiation⁸ and consultation⁹ by the countries directly concerned.

Parties involved in disputes are also obliged to discuss the means of settlement first, which, Xu says, the Philippines did not do.

Xu further notes that all these preconditions bar UNCLOS contracting states from initiating¹⁰ arbitration.

Xu says the tribunal in this case had failed to comply with the preconditions, and therefore China will neither accept nor recognize the decision made by the tribunal.

He says China shall never change its position over the dispute in the South China Sea, and reiterates¹¹ that China enjoys sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and surrounding waters.

He finally notes that China stands ready to solve disputes through direct negotiations¹² with countries in the region with the aim of jointly¹³ maintaining peace and stability.

For CRI, I'm Spencer Musick.

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 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

6 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

7 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。

8 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

9 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

10 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

11 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

12 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。

13 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。