SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military expert has refuted Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos's accusation against China on the South China Sea issue at the ongoing 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Submitting disputes over islands and reefs in the South China Sea to the so-called "international arbitration tribunal" violated relevant provisions of Article 4 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, He Lei, former deputy head of the Academy of Military Sciences, told a media briefing on Friday.

The act also infringed upon China's rights as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, He added.

The temporarily formed "international arbitration tribunal" and its arbitration violated international law and relevant rules, He said, adding that China believes international rules should represent the interests and reasonable demands of the majority members of the international community instead of serving the selfish benefits of a tiny minority of states.

China has always been an active participant, staunch defender and model observer of such rules, the Chinese expert said.

"It is unreasonable that the country violating and breaking the rules is confusing right and wrong to smear and attack a country upholding and abiding by the rules," He said.

China believes that all countries, big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, are equal and China will never bully any small state, nor has it ever done so, He said, adding that China will never allow some countries to act recklessly to break its bottom lines and principles.

Despite calling for upholding ASEAN centrality, He said, Marcos left ASEAN to form a "small squad" with the United States, Japan and Australia, strengthened his country's military alliance with the United States and carried out joint military exercises in the South China Sea, which violated rules in the region.

"Such facts show that the real intention of the Philippine government is to strengthen the country's military alliance with the United States instead of upholding ASEAN centrality, as well as to engage in camp confrontation instead of safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea," the Chinese expert stressed.

The South China Sea issue has largely been provoked and incited by countries outside the region, He said, calling for vigilance against their intervention in the South China Sea to pursue benefits and create chaos. Enditem

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