The United Nations has stated it has nothing to do with the South China Sea arbitral tribunal, in complete contrast to what some international media outlets have suggested.

Photo taken on May 12, 2015 shows the workboat of a Chinese archaeological team for the exploring of the Shanhu Island No. 1 shipwreck in the Xisha archipelago in the South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

On its official Sina Weibo account, the United Nations made it clear on Wednesday that it has nothing to do with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which issued an award on Tuesday in a case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines in 2013.

The UN pointed out that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the UN's principal judicial organ located in the Peace Palace in The Hague. The Palace was originally built by the Carnegie Foundation and the UN has been making a donation to the foundation for the use of the building. The UN pointed out that the PCA is just another "renter" in the same building of the Peace Palace, but it has nothing to do with the UN.

Many western media such as AFP, Daily Mail, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times all mistakenly stated that the arbitral tribunal was a "UN tribunal" in their reports over the past several days.

The ICJ also posted a similar clarification on its official website, stating: "The International Court of Justice (ICJ) wishes to draw the attention from the media and the public to the fact that the Award in the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China) was issued by an Arbitral Tribunal acting with the secretarial assistance of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)... The ICJ, which is a totally distinct institution, has had no involvement in the above mentioned case."

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, had already said on Tuesday that "The UN doesn't have a position on the legal and procedural merits" of the South China Sea arbitration case.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang stressed again on Thursday at a daily press briefing that the tribunal which handled the South China Sea arbitration is not an international tribunal.

The constitution and operation of the arbitral tribunal, established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), lacks legitimacy and representativeness. Therefore, the award rendered by the tribunal, without authority and credibility, is completely void and with no-binding force, he said.

"I hope media outlets or some individuals in some particular countries will not negligently call it 'UN arbitral tribunal' or 'UN backed arbitral tribunal.' I hope the mistakes were made out of mere carelessness."

Liu Zhenmin, vice foreign minister, stressed at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that the arbitrary tribunal is not an international court and that its composition is actually the result of a political manipulation by Japan's diplomat Shunji Yanai, who is helping Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lift the ban on collective self-defense to challenge the international order formed after World War II.

Liu pointed out that the arbitrary tribunal was temporarily set up and arbitrators were doing their job simply for money.

Related

• Chinese FM reiterates China's stance on South China Sea arbitration
• China says ADIZ in South China Sea depends on threat

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)