In a position paper, China outlined its arguments against the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to take up the case filed by the Philippines last year that could have implications for China's claims over the South China Sea.
"Its underlying goal is not ... to seek peaceful resolution of the South China Sea issue, but rather, by resorting to arbitration, to put political pressure on China, so as to deny China's lawful rights in the South China Sea through the so-called 'interpretation or application' of the Convention," China's foreign ministry said.
Xu Hong, head of the ministry's legal and treaties department, said the timing of the paper had nothing to do with the deadline, and it had taken time to prepare China's arguments for why it was not participating in arbitration.
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