China derides Hague-based tribunal's right to rule on South China Sea
State-controlled media in China has derided the landmark tribunal set to rule on the South China Sea territorial claims on 12 July, calling the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration a “law-abusing tribunal” that had “widely contested jurisdiction." China's foreign affairs spokesman, Hong Lei, added that the country would "not accept any means of third party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China." If the tribunal does not rule in China's favour and China flatly refuses to acknowledge it, 12 July could be the start of a long and protracted game between China and the US, with increasing international pressure around the disputed area. Southeast Asian fellow at Center for Strategic and International Studies, Gregory Poling, said: "China believes that over the long run it's inevitably going to win this South China Sea contest (because) the US will be distracted, the Philippines will cut a deal, so it doesn't need to pick a fight. It doesn't need to use force at any given moment; it can always back off and try again."

BEIJING — The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said on Wednesday that it would announce its rulings in a contentious case between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea on July 12.

The landmark case centers on the Philippine government’s argument that China’s claims over much of the sea, a strategic waterway in the western Pacific, are illegal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Philippines initiated the case in 2013 after China seized Scarborough Shoal, an atoll that the Philippines administered and that was a favorite fishing ground for Filipino fishermen.

A special five-member tribunal established by the court in 2013 will also decide on the size of maritime zones around rocks and reefs in the Spratly archipelago off the Philippine coast. It will also rule on whether China has caused environmental damage in constructing an artificial island at Mischief Reef.

China has refused to participate in the proceedings, saying that the tribunal has no jurisdiction, and has insisted that it will ignore its rulings.