BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday that no arbitration verdict would change history or the fact that China is sovereign over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters.
Ouyang Yujing, director general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing that "by not accepting or participating in the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, China is upholding the sanctity of international law, including that of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)".
"The crux of China-Philippines disputes on the South China Sea is the Philippines' illegal occupation of islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands and the two countries' maritime delineation." Ouyang stressed.
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