JAPANESE Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said Japan, as a legitimate stakeholder that uses the South China Sea lanes for trade, will continue to work with the international community to maintain peace and order in the region.
Motegi issued the statement on the 10th anniversary of the issuance of the Arbitral Tribunal Award on the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China.
"The issue with regard to the South China Sea is directly related to the peace and stability of the region and constitutes the legitimate concern of the international community as a whole," Motegi said.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidated China's expansive claim in the South China Sea, which encroached on the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
"The arbitral award is final and legally binding on the parties to the dispute, the Philippines and China, under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos)," he said.
"Therefore, the two states are required to comply with the Arbitral award," Motegi said in a statement shared by the Japanese Embassy in Manila.
Motegi said that Japan will continue to work in coordination with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United States "to maintain and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law."
"Japan reaffirms that, as the Arbitral award made clear, there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea," he said.
"The claim by China that it will not accept the Arbitral award is against the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, as reflected in Unclos, and undermines the rule of law in the international community," he added. Bernadette Tamayo
