BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China has asked Japan to stop interfering in the South China Sea issue, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.
China hopes Japan will bear in mind the terms of China-Japan relations and of regional peace and stability, and reflect on its position on South China Sea disputes, Lu Kang said.
The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration issued its final award on Tuesday. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that the award of the tribunal is final and legally binding, and all parties should comply.
Lu said the unilateral initiation of arbitration by the Philippines aims to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.
Members of the tribunal were picked by then president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Shunji Yanai, a Japanese judge who also helped Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lift the ban on collective self-defense right and challenge the post-WWII international order, Lu said, noting the tribunal has been politicized at the outset of its establishment.
China did not participate in the arbitration and neither accepts nor recognizes the award, the spokesperson added.