Philippine groups protest after Beijing calls Hague ruling ‘a piece of waste paper’

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.