SOUTH CHINA SEA:MOFA said that Taiwan was not involved in the arbitration, and reiterated the ROC’s sovereignty claims over four island chains in the disputed waters
Taipei Times
Date: Nov 01, 2015
By: Staff writer, with CNA
The government yesterday said that it does not recognize or accept a ruling by an
Coast Guard Administration officials pose with a Republic of China flag on Zhongzhou Reef in the South China Sea on June 15 as part of their visit to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island), the largest island of the Spratly Islands. Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
international arbitration panel that it could hear a case brought by the Philippines against China over disputed territory in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has not invited the Republic of China (ROC) to participate in its arbitration with China, and the arbitration tribunal has not solicited the ROC’s views, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement.
“Therefore, the arbitration does not affect the ROC in any way, and the ROC neither recognizes nor accepts related awards,” it said.
The ministry’s statement came after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands on Thursday ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case, in which the Philippines argues that China’s “nine-dash line” territorial claim over South China Sea waters is unlawful under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). [FULL STORY]
