WASHINGTON (AP) – A landmark international tribunal ruling on the South China Sea threatens to sharpen the differences between from the United States and China, exposing a growing gulf between the world powers.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the White House policy director for Asia, said Monday’s ruling in the case brought by the Philippines was “an important contribution to the shared goal of a peaceful resolution to disputes in the South China Sea.” U.S. officials expressed hope it could provide an impetus to diplomacy.
Unsurprisingly, China was less sanguine, as the ruling rejected the legal basis of China’s expansive territorial claims.
Chinese ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, reiterated Beijing’s support for negotiations among concerned parties to resolve territorial disputes, but he said the ruling would set back the prospects of diplomacy in the South China Sea, where in all, six Asian governments have competing claims.
“It will certainly intensify conflict and even confrontation. In the end it will undermine the authority and effectiveness of international law,” Cui said, hours after the Hague-based tribunal issued its decision.