Ruling won't hinder the healthy development of cooperation between China and ASEAN

Zhao Qizheng, former minister of China's State Council Information Office, delivers a keynote speech at the Think Tank Seminar on South China Sea and Regional Cooperation and Development held on Monday in Singapore. His remarks are widely echoed by the participating experts from both China and Southeast Asian nations.

Distinguished experts and scholars, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!

I'm quite honored to be here to share with you, experts and scholars, some of my thoughts on the so-called South China Sea arbitration, China's South China Sea policies and China-ASEAN relations, along with the regional cooperation and development. I hope that our exchanges of views and joint wisdom will help cool down the South China Sea issue, putting this region back on track to peace, cooperation and development.

After the so-called award of the South China Sea arbitration was announced, the Chinese government made a solemn statement, expounding China's non-acceptance and non-recognition of the so-called award on the basis of its long-standing position of non-acceptance and non-participation in the Philippines South China Sea arbitration. As everyone may see more clearly now, the arbitration was a downright political farce under the pretext of law. It contained serious errors in issue concerning procedure, application of laws, and admission of evidence. It violated the principle that arbitration shall be based on state consent, China's right to choose on its own will means of dispute settlement, and the bilateral agreement reached between the Philippines and China, and repeatedly reaffirmed over the years, to resolve relevant disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations and consultations, as well as the commitment made by the Philippines, in the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to resolve the relevant disputes through negotiations and consultations.

The temporary arbitration tribunal set up as per the Philippines' request has no jurisdiction. Its act of self-expansion and abuse of power as well as ultra vires is obvious and serious. The so-called award denies historical facts, and seriously violated international law and the basic spirit and principle of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Therefore, it is certainly null and void, and has no binding force. Facts have proved and will continue to prove that China's consistent position on this arbitration case is correct and China is safeguarding the justice of international law.

As a matter of fact, the makeshift arbitral tribunal has nothing to do with the United Nations or the International Court of Justice, which have made separate statements earlier last week. The so-called award is also ludicrous as it even denied Taiping Dao (the Taiping Island) as an island. I have no idea how they defined island and reef. The international community has been very cautious when it comes to the identification of islands and reefs, how come the five arbitrators can make the decision in less than one year? It may have something to do with who is paying for the tribunal besides the political calculations. Unlike the International Court of Justice, where the judges' salaries are paid by the UN to ensure its independence and impartiality, those five arbitrators feed on the money from the Philippines - that explains everything. Moreover, according to Philippine media, the Aquino III administration paid $30 million for the eight lawyers and their team it hired for the arbitration. The Philippine taxpayers' money was used to cover such a pile of waste paper, which only brought to light their mean tricks.

On July 12, the award was announced and the tribunal finally finished its ugly function. I'd like to summarize the tribunal as "taking big money to do dirty things", "amateurish and unsightly, null and void".

Some said that the ruling would isolate China, but on the contrary, China's position and opinion have not only won support from its own people but also from more than 70 sovereign states and over 230 political parties and organizations in some 90 countries. Apart from the Philippines, only a very few countries, such as the United States and Japan, considered the arbitration was lawful. The US has kept preaching the upholding of international law, but has not even ratified UNCLOS, not to mention that it refused to implement the 1986 ruling in the Nicaragua vs US by the International Court of Justice, which is a UN affiliate. Obviously, the US has always been practicing double standard when treating international law. Japan tried to use the arbitration to provoke dissension, demonstrating its mean and obvious political intension.

China's position on its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea is consistent and clear. I will not go into details here. We've brought the white paper on the South China Sea issued recently by China, please feel free to get one and read. The name of the white paper - China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea - makes our point clear, that is, going back to negotiations is the only way out for the disputes in the South China Sea. China will stick to the "dual-track approach", namely relevant disputes should be settled properly through negotiations and consultations by States directly concerned, and China and the ASEAN countries should work together to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.

In the wake of the ruling, we read reports that some Philippine people called for dialogue and economic cooperation with China. Some media in the Philippines ran reports that President Duterte said he would send delegates to China to talk about the South China Sea issue. We sincerely hope that negotiations will be resumed soon, and then China-Philippines relations will be back on track.

China highly values its friendly relations with ASEAN countries, as it is a key geopolitical and economic environment for China's peaceful development. Within ASEAN itself, there are countries which share similar culture and have long-standing friendship with China, as well as countries that have increasingly closer trade ties with China. We are neighbors joined by common mountains and rivers, and cooperation and win-win is the mainstream of our relationship.

Since China and ASEAN established an overall dialogue framework in 1991, the two sides have had ever-deepening cooperation in politics and security, robust cooperation in economy and trade, and significant achievement in people-to-people exchanges.

Politically, China consistently pursues a foreign policy of fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood and respects ASEAN member states' independent choices of development path and values. The ASEAN member states have adhered to the one-China policy, supported China's peaceful reunification and accommodated China's concerns on issues of paramount importance. The 2002 DOC is a landmark event as it was the first document addressing the South China Sea issue in this region, contributing greatly to regional peace and stability and to enhancement of mutual trust between China and ASEAN.

Economically, China and ASEAN have increasingly close trade cooperation. In 2009, China became the ASEAN's biggest trade partner. The bilateral trade reached $470 billion last year and two-way investment has added to exceed $150 billion. Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2010, the cooperation between China and the ASEAN member states has entered a new stage. In 2015, we signed a Protocol to upgrade the CAFTA and identified more than 20 fields to carry out practical cooperation including 11 priority areas of agriculture, information and communication technologies, human resources development, investment, Mekong River area development, transportation, energy, culture, tourism, public health and environment.

Regarding cultural exchanges, China and ASEAN have reached important consensus on enhancing cultural exchanges and cooperation and already launched communication programs in various forms. Over the years, a series of programs such as symposiums, exhibitions and shows have been held and people-to-people interaction have been increased, displaying the unique and diverse cultures in China and the ASEAN Member States.

A great number of influential and wide-reaching culture brands, such as China-ASEAN Cultural Forum, have been forged. In 2015, mutual visits approached 23.67 million, and China and the ASEAN Member States exchanged more than 180,000 students.

China set up a $10-billion China-ASEAN investment cooperation fund, providing financing aids for major projects of cooperation in infrastructure and energy resources. China also has maintained sound interaction and cooperation on the South China Sea with countries concerned. For example, China established the China-ASEAN maritime cooperation fund, which provides vital supports for strengthening maritime cooperation. Moreover, China signed agreements in this regard with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

The aforementioned facts show clearly that despite the difficulties, such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the intervention of countries outside the region and the not well-established cooperation mechanism, the communication and cooperation between China and the ASEAN member states have never ceased and have brought great benefits to all countries.

It is beyond doubt that maintaining regional peace and stability, and keeping the momentum of cooperation and development is in the best interest of all.

In view of the current situation, China and the ASEAN member states must enhance talks and stop quarreling. We should overcome interferences and place our priority on cooperation. Strategically speaking, this is the most realistic solution. The disputes in the South China Sea are only a problem between China and some of the ASEAN Member States, not all of them. The arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Aquino III administration won't undermine the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN. It will not impede the progress of China-ASEAN cooperation either.

In October 2013, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech entitled "Joining Hands in Building China-ASEAN Community of Shared Future" at the Indonesian parliament. He gave a full account of China's policy toward ASEAN and clarified the long-term objectives of China-ASEAN relationship. For the first time, Xi expressed willingness to cooperate with ASEAN Member States to build the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

Today, as much progress has been made in this regard, the potential for China-ASEAN cooperation in the South China Sea will be tapped gradually. Through extensive cooperation, the two sides will achieve mutually beneficial, win-win outcomes, and the South China Sea will become a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the China-ASEAN Dialogue and Relations. In September, a summit will be held in Vientiane in Laos to celebrate this great event, and leaders from China and ASEAN member states will attend. We hope that we can take this opportunity to further promote the China-ASEAN relations.

And finally, I sincerely hope and believe that all of you, with your great wisdom and foresight, continue to make contributions to the bright vision of a future China-ASEAN Community of Common Destiny.

Thank you!

Zhao Qizheng, former minister of China's State Council Information Office, speaks at the Think Tank Seminar on South China Sea and Regional Cooperation and Development on Monday in Singapore. Deng Zhiwei / Xinhua