China not to accept international arbitration on disputes: senior diplomat

Zhang Yesui, China's vice Foreign Minister, delivers a speech at the third World Peace Forum in Beijing on June 21, 2014. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

A senior Chinese diplomat says China will not accept the international arbitration over the South China Sea disputes.

Vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui made the remarks during the third World Peace Forum in Beijing.

"China will not accept or participate in the international arbitration proposed by relevant countries to solve the South China Sea disputes. We strongly oppose that some countries infringe on other countries' interests in the guise of legislation. We hope relevant countries can focus on the overall interest and future to return to the path of dialogue and negotiation."

China has territorial disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea. And the Philippines has formally requested an international arbitration ruling on the issue.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, any contracting party has the right to reject the third party's compulsory jurisdiction over the disputes about islands sovereign and ocean demarcations.

Speaking at the forum, Former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi called for cooperation in solving the maritime disputes.

"It is a cooperation, it is working together. We can help one another to ensure that we are not going to get into a kind of problems among us. This is something that we must do."

Chinese officials say Vietnam openly acknowledged that the Xisha islands in the South China Sea belong to China before 1974.

But illegal fishing by Vietnamese boats around the islands has been on the rise in recent years.

Since early May, Vietnam has carried out disruptions against Chinese companies' oil drilling in waters near the islands.

Meanwhile, Chinese officials say the Philippines stirred up trouble by delivering supplies to its military vessel grounded on a disputed reef in March.