Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the Spratly (Truong Sa) Islands in the East Sea (Source: http://english.vov.vn) Berlin (VNA) – Germany’s Die Zeit newswire on July 20 ran an article criticising China for its ambition of sovereignty over the East Sea regardless of international law.
The author stressed that the law must be applied for China, and Europe could not stay neutral in the sovereignty dispute.
On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands issued a ruling that rejects China’s groundless claims for “historic rights” over waters within the so-called nine-dash line in the East Sea.
According to the ruling, China not only violates the Philippines’ rights but also causes insurmountable losses to the eco-system through the construction of artificial islands in the East Sea.
The article said China’s rejection of the PCA’s ruling as valueless and invalid has run counter to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to which China itself is a signatory.. In other words, China has trodden on international law.
The East Sea is one of the world’s most important shipping lanes with more than 60,000 ships passing through annually. The Asian, European and American people have vital interests in the freedom of navigation in this lifeline route, it said, adding that it is not easy to find a diplomatic solution to the current dispute in the East Sea, but Europe need to raise its voice and condemn Beijing’s disregard for international law.-VNA
