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SOURCE: INDIA TODAY
Comparing the South China Sea issue to the boundary dispute between India and China, a former People’s Liberation Army General has said that Beijing would not accept any arbitration on issues concerning its territorial sovereignty.
General Luo Yuan, who is one of China’s most well-known military strategists, said the South China Sea was a question of China’s sovereignty, and was hence beyond the remit of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which on July 12 ruled in favour of the Philippines by declaring that many of China’s claims were not consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
While the tribunal ruled that some land features were not islands but rocks or reefs, which would not permit China to claim territorial waters around them according to UNCLOS, Beijing rejected the ruling by stating that it was not obligated to defer to UNCLOS on issues of sovereignty. The Philippines however argued the case was not about sovereignty but about the nature of geographical features.
SOUTH CHINA SEA SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE’
Reaffirming China’s stand, the retired General Luo, who is a senior research fellow at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences and is one of China’s more influential hawks, said on Sunday, “The South China Sea is a sovereignty issue, so they have no right to issue a verdict.”
General Luo drew a comparison with the India-China boundary dispute. “This is like the territorial disputes between China and India,” he said, speaking at a Tsinghua University forum in Beijing.
“Similarly, the arbitrary tribunal does not have the right to resolve this dispute,” he said.
RESULT OF RULING
The tribunal’s ruling has led some analysts to suggest it could have ramifications on some of China’s other maritime disputes, prompting other countries such as Vietnam to similarly seek arbitration on whether China’s claims are compatible with UNCLOS.
he ruling has no bearing on the India-China boundary dispute, which is over land and is being resolved by both countries through long-running bilateral negotiations.
The tribunal found that China’s claim that it had “historical rights” within the nine-dash line, which covers almost the entire South China Sea, were inconsistent with what UNCLOS permits countries to claim as territorial waters, around only certain geographical features.
General Luo rejected this argument, saying the South China Sea was “like a dispute over property”.
“They are not talking about inheritance rights, they are talking about distribution of property and who should get which portion,” he said. “Those are two different things. Distribution of property is like a divorce case. You are talking about who should get which property or territory.”
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...er-dispute-pla-general-luo-yuan/1/717025.html
Comparing the South China Sea issue to the boundary dispute between India and China, a former People’s Liberation Army General has said that Beijing would not accept any arbitration on issues concerning its territorial sovereignty.
General Luo Yuan, who is one of China’s most well-known military strategists, said the South China Sea was a question of China’s sovereignty, and was hence beyond the remit of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which on July 12 ruled in favour of the Philippines by declaring that many of China’s claims were not consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
While the tribunal ruled that some land features were not islands but rocks or reefs, which would not permit China to claim territorial waters around them according to UNCLOS, Beijing rejected the ruling by stating that it was not obligated to defer to UNCLOS on issues of sovereignty. The Philippines however argued the case was not about sovereignty but about the nature of geographical features.
SOUTH CHINA SEA SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE’
Reaffirming China’s stand, the retired General Luo, who is a senior research fellow at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences and is one of China’s more influential hawks, said on Sunday, “The South China Sea is a sovereignty issue, so they have no right to issue a verdict.”
General Luo drew a comparison with the India-China boundary dispute. “This is like the territorial disputes between China and India,” he said, speaking at a Tsinghua University forum in Beijing.
“Similarly, the arbitrary tribunal does not have the right to resolve this dispute,” he said.
RESULT OF RULING
The tribunal’s ruling has led some analysts to suggest it could have ramifications on some of China’s other maritime disputes, prompting other countries such as Vietnam to similarly seek arbitration on whether China’s claims are compatible with UNCLOS.
he ruling has no bearing on the India-China boundary dispute, which is over land and is being resolved by both countries through long-running bilateral negotiations.
The tribunal found that China’s claim that it had “historical rights” within the nine-dash line, which covers almost the entire South China Sea, were inconsistent with what UNCLOS permits countries to claim as territorial waters, around only certain geographical features.
General Luo rejected this argument, saying the South China Sea was “like a dispute over property”.
“They are not talking about inheritance rights, they are talking about distribution of property and who should get which portion,” he said. “Those are two different things. Distribution of property is like a divorce case. You are talking about who should get which property or territory.”
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...er-dispute-pla-general-luo-yuan/1/717025.html
