The recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the Philippines’ s lawsuit against China concerning disputes in the East Sea is of historical significance, a Japanese expert has said.
Prof. Kurihara Hirohide, an expert in Vietnam-China relations at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies’ Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, said the ruling was made on the basis of international law and thorough research studies of the East Sea’s history and status quo.
The professor stressed that China’s claims to the majority of the sea is unacceptable.
China defines “relevant and irrelevant parties” to prevent countries “outside the region” like the US and Japan, as described by Beijing, from interfering in the East Sea issue, he said.
He added that the East Sea is an important international sea route so it is appropriate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to raise the East Sea issue at the recent Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Mongolia.
Mentioning the court’s conclusion that no features claimed by China in the East Sea can create an exclusive economic zone, the expert described China’s construction of man-made islands in sea as a vain attempt.
Read the full story at VietnamNet