The US subscribes to international law when it is favourable and ignores it when it is not, China has said, hitting back at Washington which warned Beijing against ignoring an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea.
A senior US diplomat warned yesterday that Beijing risked conflict, isolation and "terrible" damage to its reputation if it ignored an impending ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague constituted under the UN Convention on Law of the Seas, (UNCLOS) over a case the Philippines has brought against China.
China has declined to take part in the UNCLOS proceedings saying that its judgement will not have any binding on its claims over the South China Sea
On the other hand, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Washington is deliberately exaggerating the China threat at the expense of US taxpayers.
Refuting US criticism, Hua told media here yesterday that US itself has not signed on to the UNCLOS.
Instead, Washington had introduced its so-called Freedom of Navigation Program in 1979 ahead of the convention's introduction in 1982, Hua said.
Hua also said that it is "a secret known to all" that the US subscribes to international law when it is favourable, and ignores the law when it is not.
She said more than 30 countries, in addition to China, have filed declarations in accordance with the convention to exclude disputes about maritime delimitation from compulsory arbitration and other compulsory dispute settlement procedures.
"China's rejection of the arbitration and refusal to be part of it is to ensure the solemnity of international laws, including the convention, and to oppose abuse of them," Hua said.
China claims sovereignty on all most of all of the South China Sea which is disputed by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Though China says it will ignore the UNCLOS tribunal judgement, Chinese officials say it may add more pressure on Beijing as it would strengthen the case of Philippines and other south east asian countries pressing China to settle the dispute.
