News / EU

EU urges peaceful resolution to South China Sea dispute

Friday, 15 July 2016 2:16 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 15 July 2016 6:06 PM ]

The photo taken on July 14, 2016, shows Chinese ships putting out a fire on a mock cargo vessel during an emergency drill in the South China Sea near Sansha, China's southern province of Hainan. (AFP photo)

The European Union has called for a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute in the wake of an international court ruling against Beijing's claims to sovereignty over the strategic waters.

The EU member states "acknowledge" the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said in a statement on Friday.

Mogherini, however, said the EU maintains a neutral position on sovereignty disputes.

She said a political solution to the dispute is required, urging all parties to refrain from raising tensions.

The European Union "expresses the need for the parties to the dispute to resolve it through peaceful means, to clarify their claims and pursue them in respect and in accordance with international law," Mogherini said.

EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini talks to journalists as she arrives before an EU summit on June 28, 2016 at the European Union headquarters in Brussels. (AFP photo)

"The EU calls upon the parties concerned to address remaining and further related issues through negotiations and other peaceful means and refrain from activities likely to raise tensions," Mogherini said.

On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s claims over most of the South China Sea had no legal basis in a case brought by the Philippines. Beijing rejected the verdict.

The South China Sea waters are believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and gas. The dispute has at times drawn in transregional countries, particularly the US.

Washington says the court ruling is "final and legally binding."

Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.

The US, in turn, accuses China of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.

Over the past few days, diplomats say, there has been a dispute over the wording of the EU statement as eastern member countries, including Slovenia and Croatia, also have territorial disputes before the court.

"Two member states (Croatia, Slovenia) have a principle problem with arbitration judgments," said an EU diplomat, whose name was not mentioned in the report.

"It is a difficult balancing act. We have a legal position, but on the other hand we need China for a whole bunch of other topics."

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