Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on July 12, 2023 |
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2023-07-12 21:41 |
Dragon TV: On July 12, Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo issued a statement on the seventh anniversary of the so-called award on the South China Sea arbitration, saying that the award is now part of international law, and the Philippines welcomes the growing number of partners that have expressed support for the award. What is your comment? Wang Wenbin: China’s position on the so-called South China Sea arbitration and the award is consistent, clear and firm. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on this on July 12, 2016. The Arbitral Tribunal violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of UNCLOS and general international law. The award is illegal, null and void. China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. China’s sovereignty and rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in history and the law. This shall under no circumstances be affected by illegal awards. The illegal award of the so-called South China Sea arbitration has been questioned widely by the international community. Many internationally authoritative law experts and scholars, including former president of the International Court of Justice and former judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, have written articles to point out the serious flaws in the award. Visionary people in the Philippines have publicly noted that the award is illegal and wrong. China’s position of not accepting or recognizing the award has won the support and understanding of more than 100 countries. China and ASEAN countries are fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in an effective way, and actively advancing consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). All parties have agreed to handle the South China Sea issue by following the dual-track approach, namely, maritime disputes should be handled properly by countries directly concerned through dialogue and consultation and peace and stability in the South China Sea should be jointly safeguarded by China and ASEAN countries. We urge relevant parties to continue working with China to properly handle and manage maritime differences through dialogue and consultation, and work with regional countries to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea. TASS: Yesterday, NATO released the Vilnius Summit Communiqué, which said that “the deepening strategic partnership between China and Russia and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order run counter to our values and interests.” What’s China’s response? Wang Wenbin: The China-Russia relationship is built on the basis of no-alliance, no-confrontation and no-targeting of any third party. It rises above the model of military and political alliance in the Cold War era and provides a model for major-country relations. This is fundamentally different from the exclusive groupings and bloc confrontation practiced by some NATO countries. We urge NATO to stop making groundless accusations and provocative rhetoric targeting China, quit the outdated Cold War mentality, ditch the wrongdoing of seeking absolute security. We have seen what NATO has done to Europe, and NATO must not seek to sow chaos here in the Asia-Pacific or elsewhere in the world. Yonhap News Agency: This morning, the DPRK fired a ballistic missile. In its recent communiqué, NATO strongly “condemned the DPRK’s weapon of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programmes” and urged the DPRK to realize denuclearization “in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.” What’s China’s position on this? Wang Wenbin: The Korean Peninsula issues are political and security issues and require efforts from all parties to follow the dual-track approach of pursuing in parallel the establishment of a peace mechanism and the denuclearization of the Peninsula. NATO is not a party to the Korean Peninsula issues. Its communiqué ignores the crux of the issues and the negative impact of relevant parties’ military deterrence and pressure and double standards on nuclear non-proliferation. This is not conducive to the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issues. China has repeatedly stressed that without addressing the absence of a peace mechanism, which is the crux of the issue, the Peninsula can hardly get rid of the security dilemma that generates tension and confrontation. The current situation is not what China wishes to see. We hope parties will be committed to a political settlement, resolve each other’s legitimate concerns in a balanced way through meaningful dialogue and uphold peace and stability on the Peninsula. CCTV: Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare is on an official visit to China. This is his second visit to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations. On July 10, the two sides issued the Joint Statement on Establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Featuring Mutual Respect and Common Development for a New Era. Could you share more details about the visit? What effect will the visit have on the future of China’s ties with Solomon Islands and the other Pacific Island countries? Wang Wenbin: Prime Minister Sogavare has begun his official visit to China on July 9. President Xi Jinping met with him and they jointly announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development for a new era. Premier Li Qiang held talks and other official events with Prime Minister Sogavare. Today, Chairman Zhao Leji met with the Prime Minister. The leaders had in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest, and reached broad and important consensus. The joint statement issued by the two sides outlined the major guiding principles and specific cooperation measures for growing bilateral relations. The two countries agreed to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and be committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. The visit achieved fruitful outcomes. The two sides signed multiple cooperation documents in the fields of development cooperation, trade, infrastructure development, civil aviation, education, police affairs, customs and meteorology. Prime Minister Sogavare and his delegation will also travel to Jiangsu and Guangdong. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in September 2019, China-Solomon Islands relations have shown robust momentum. It shows the strong dy |