China rejects UN arbitration on disputed SCS

China on Monday rejected a UN tribunal’s arbitration on the disputed South China Sea saying it had no jurisdiction over the case even as Beijing asserted it would not accept any third-party settlement of territorial disputes.

“China’s territorial sovereignty should be decided by all the Chinese people, and no other people or organisation has the right to handle it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. He was replying on the recent release of a court hearing record by an international tribunal in the Hague lodged by the Philippines as China brushed aside the UN tribunal arbitrating the case saying that it will not accept its verdict in the matter. Hong said China’s position on the SCS stands on a solid international legal base and will remain unchanged.