The “South China Sea arbitration” violates fundamental principles of international law, including state consent and pacta sunt servanda, contravenes UNCLOS itself, and, still more importantly, runs counter to the basic facts of the South China Sea. The so-called “award” is nothing but a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force. China does not accept or recognize the “award,” and opposes and does not accept any claim or action based on it. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall not be affected by the “award” under any circumstances. If the “award” were to be taken as a standard, many countries’ islands and reefs would be denied the basis for claiming maritime rights and interests. May we ask, have those countries supporting the “award” voluntarily waived the maritime rights and interests deriving from their relevant islands and reefs? China urges the relevant countries to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, stop stirring up trouble over the South China Sea issue, and cease undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea. 🔗