Washington: China should be held "accountable" to an international tribunal's ruling next week on the South China Sea dispute with the Philippines, the US has said, advising both countries to comply with their obligations.
"We support the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, including the use of international legal mechanisms such as arbitration," the State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.
"As provided in the Law of the Sea Convention, the tribunal's decision in this case will be legally binding on both parties, the Philippines and China. It's our expectation that both parties will comply with their obligations and exercise restraint," he said in response to a question.
The US, he said, has made clear to the Chinese what its expectations are in this regard.
Congressman Matt Salmon, Chairman of the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said the Obama Administration and other counterparts across the world recognise the severity of the threat posed by China's aggressive, coercive actions in the South China Sea that undermine international norms.
"Our Secretary of Defence and the President himself regularly list the South China Sea among the world's most concerning international friction points and raise it at the highest levels with their Chinese interlocutors, including Chinese President Xi Jinping," he said. The Permanent Court of Arbitration's tribunal deciding the Philippines' legal case against China recently announced it'll conclude its decision on July 12.
"Although China is legally bound to its result, it has refused to participate and has clearly said it will not comply. I am concerned that many seemed to have written off China's non-compliance as a foregone conclusion," Salmon said, adding, "China should be held accountable to the tribunal's ruling."
The Philippines has asked the tribunal to rule on a number of issues, particularly on the validity of China's nine-dash line and on the maritime entitlements generated by various land features in the South China Sea.
The Law of the Sea Convention makes clear that the absence of a party or failure of a party to defend its case shall not constitute a bar to the proceeds and that a decision by the tribunal shall be complied with by the parties to the dispute, in this case, China and the Philippines, said Colin Willett Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, during a Congressional hearing on Thursday.
"The world will be watching to see whether China chooses a path of diplomacy and cooperation or continues to walk a long one of confrontation with its neighbors," he said.
