By Becky Davis with Ayee Macaraig in Manila
China warned Thursday of a "decisive response" to provocations in the South China Sea, as it faced mounting pressure to accept an international tribunal's ruling against its claims to most of the strategically vital waters.
The Philippines, which launched the legal challenge, called for Beijing to respect the decision but sought to defuse tensions saying it would send a former president to China for talks.
China, which had already vowed to ignore Tuesday's verdict by the UN-backed tribunal in The Hague, responded with another firm warning that it was in no mood to back down.
"If anyone wants to take any provocative action against China's security interests based on the award, China will make a decisive response," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
China claims nearly all of the sea -- which is of immense military importance and through which about $5 trillion worth of shipping trade passes annually -- even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.
China justifies its claims by saying it was the first to have discovered, named and exploited the sea, and outlines its territory using a vague map made up of nine dashes that emerged in the 1940s.
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