Tokyo pressures Beijing on S China Sea ruling

Ulan Bator, Mongolia / AFP

Tokyo raised pressure on Beijing at an Asia-Europe summit Saturday to respect an international tribunal’s ruling that dismissed its claims to much of the South China Sea.
At a retreat outside the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the assembled leaders that the rule of law was “a universal principle that the international community must firmly maintain,” according to Japan’s Jiji Press.
“I strongly hope the parties to the dispute comply with the award and lead to a peaceful solution of the dispute in South China Sea,” he said.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague on Tuesday ruled that there was no legal basis for Beijing’s claims to much of the South China Sea, which are embodied in a “nine-dash line” that dates from 1940s maps and stretches close to other countries’ coasts.
The case was brought by the Philippines but the ruling has proved a boon to Tokyo, which is embroiled in a separate territorial dispute of its own with Beijing and vies with it for influence across Asia.
China boycotted the PCA hearings, saying the court had no jurisdiction, and has reacted furiously, vowing to ignore the ruling and arguing that it misinterprets international law.
It also said the subject should not be brought up at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Mongolian capital.
But despite Chinese objections, the EU also weighed in on the subject, with President Donald Tusk telling reporters that the grouping “will continue to speak out in support of upholding international law”, adding that it had “full confidence” in the PCA and its decisions. “It’s not so easy to agree with our Chinese partners when it comes to this issue” he said. “Our talks were difficult, tough, but also promising.”

‘Hyping up’
The comments by Abe and Tusk on Saturday followed a blitz of meetings between the Japanese leader and officials from around the region, including his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, on the summit sidelines as he sought to build consensus on the issue.
Both countries have competing claims with Beijing in the strategically vital South China Sea, where tensions have mounted over the Asian giant’s construction of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations and its claims on the region’s marine resources.
The new government in Manila has promised not to “taunt or flaunt” the verdict in the case, which was brought by the previous administration of Benigno Aquino, and its public comments were less forceful than Abe’s.
According to a Philippines foreign ministry statement, Yasay told him the decision provided “a legal basis to move forward”, and Manila was studying it “very carefully”.
In Abe’s meeting with Phuc, the two leaders agreed that the tribunal’s ruling should be observed, and Abe offered to increase cooperation on building Vietnam’s maritime law enforcement capabilities, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura said. The Japanese prime minister also brought his argument directly to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a heated 30-minute meeting on Friday.