China will not get copies of SCS tribunal verdict, says foreign ministry

Beijing: Hours ahead of the international tribunal's verdict on the Philippines' petition challenging China's claims in the disputed South China Sea, Beijing on Tuesday said it will not recognise the decision nor will it receive copies of the judgement.

"It is true that we do not recognise and accept the so called arbitration. We will have no legal connection with the arbitral tribunal and we will not accept whatever materials it provides," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media here as the five-member tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration is set to deliver its judgment today.

He was responding to a question on whether China will receive the judgement copies which the tribunal said will be provided to the concerned parties early before releasing it to the media.

China has boycotted the tribunal ever since Philippines filed the petition in The Hague international court. China claims almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea but its claim is firmly contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan which have overlapping claims over the area.