China claims 1,000 years sovereignty over SCS; denies US charges

The tribunal said China has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" to resources in the SCS and it has violated the Philippines' sovereign rights in the disputed waters

Refuting US allegations of building a "maritime empire" in the disputed South China Sea, China on Tuesday claimed its jurisdiction over the vast ocean existed for more than 1,000 years and accused Washington of attempting to sow discord between Beijing and the Southeast Asian countries.

In a major policy speech on Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the world will not allow China to treat the strategically important South China Sea (SCS) as its "maritime empire" and vowed to support worried Southeast Asian countries against Beijing's "campaign of bullying" to control the resource-rich region.

Reacting to Pompeo's statement,