Einar Tangen on China rejecting Philippines on South China Sea case

World Today

China has started a week-long naval exercise in the South China Sea.

The drill area is near the Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands.

The Chinese maritime authority issued a warning to international shipping to clear the area during the drill.

It comes ahead of the announcement of an international arbitration over a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines.

However, the disputed area is not in the area of the naval drill, which the Chinese Defense Ministry is calling routine.

China has rejected comments from the lawyer who is in charge of the Philippine’s international arbitration over South China Sea dispute.

Paul S. Reichler is a Philippine lawyer. It is, therefore, not a surprise for him to know the intention of the Philippines government.

But it is, indeed, strange that he seems to have known how the ruling is written and how the ruling is written according to what he thinks before the ruling is out.

China opposed the Philippines’s unilateral move to seek international arbitration over territorial disputes.

China has offered to resolve the issue through talks.

The Philippine’s new president Rodrigo Duterte said China will be his first foreign visit.

For more about South China Sea dispute, CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke to Current affairs commentator Einar Tangen.