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People's Daily joins Beijing's campaign against Philippines over 2016 South China Sea ruling
🇨🇳 China /Elections & Politics

People's Daily joins Beijing's campaign against Philippines over 2016 South China Sea ruling

From South China Morning Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • China's Communist Party newspaper, People's Daily, has launched a rhetorical attack on the Philippines over a 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling.
  • The newspaper called the ruling a "destabilising force" and urged the Philippines to engage in direct talks, rejecting the ruling as "illegal."
  • This initiative is part of a broader campaign by Beijing, which includes critiques from other government bodies, ahead of the ruling's 10th anniversary.

China's state-controlled media is intensifying its campaign against the Philippines, just days before the 10th anniversary of a 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling. The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party, published two commentaries on Friday denouncing the ruling as a "destabilising force" and demanding that Manila engage in direct negotiations.

destabilising force

— People's DailyThe People's Daily branded the July 12 decision of 2016 a “destabilising force”.

The commentaries cap a recent multi-agency offensive from Beijing. Previously, a Ministry of Natural Resources think tank and a state assessment of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) had also criticized the Philippines' maritime claims and warned of "abusive practices."

China did not participate in the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines in 2013 and refuses to recognize the verdict. The ruling invalidated key aspects of Beijing's expansive claims in the contested waters, a persistent point of friction that has soured relations between China and other South China Sea claimants.

would never be bound

— People's DailyChina “would never be bound” by the ruling “under any circumstances”, one of Friday’s People’s Daily commentaries asserted.

One of the People's Daily commentaries explicitly stated that China "would never be bound" by the ruling "under any circumstances," underscoring Beijing's unwavering stance on the territorial disputes.

illegal

— Beijingdays ahead of the 10th anniversary of a South China Sea arbitration ruling rejected by Beijing as “illegal”.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by South China Morning Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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