Chinese fishermen head to the shoal to fish at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in this file picture taken on April 6, 2017. - Reuters
MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): Appearing to take a cue from President Rodrigo Duterte’s past remarks, China has called the Philippines’ 2016 landmark victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration “nothing more than a piece of waste paper, ” drawing protests in Manila for the “disrespectful, crass statements.”
“The [arbitral award] is illegal, null and void. It is nothing more than a piece of waste paper. China does not accept or participate in the arbitration, nor does it accept or recognise the award,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday (July 12), the fifth anniversary of the ruling issued in The Hague.
