An international tribunal's ruling denying China's claims in the South China Sea will "intensify conflict and even confrontation," said Beijing's ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Cui Tiankai said, as told in an international forum in Washington, that Beijing remains committed to negotiations with other parties in disputes over the vital trade route.
The Chinese diplomat blamed the rise in tension in the region on the United States' "pivot" towards Asia in the past few years.
China boycotted the arbitration hearings and described them as a farce. Legal experts and Asia policy specialists said China risked violating international law if it continued to strike a defiant tone and ignore the ruling.
The United States, which China has accused of fueling tensions and militarizing the region with patrols and exercises, said the ruling should be treated as final and binding.
The ruling is significant as it is the first time that a legal challenge has been brought in the dispute. The court has no power of enforcement, but a victory for the Philippines could spur Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei to file similar cases on their claims to the waters.
The Philippines said it was studying the ruling. "We call on all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety," said Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay in a news conference.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington has seen signs in recent weeks of continued militarization by China in the South China Sea.
President Barack Obama's top Asia policy adviser, Daniel Kritenbrink, said the United States had no interest in stirring tensions in the South China Sea as a pretext for involvement in the region.
Source: Reuters
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