Singapore urges 'self-restraint' from all parties after South China Sea ruling

China's South Sea Fleet takes part in a drill in the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea in May AFP

SINGAPORE: Following the Hague tribunal's ruling on the South China Sea, Singapore has urged all parties to "fully respect legal and diplomatic processes, exercise self-restraint and avoid conducting any activities that may raise tensions in the region".

The United Nations-backed tribunal said Beijing has no legal basis to claim "historic rights" to islands in the South China Sea.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement is as follows:

"Singapore has taken note of the Award made by the Arbitral Tribunal convened under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on 12 July 2016 on the case between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China. We are studying the Award and its implications on Singapore and the wider region.

Singapore is not a claimant state and we do not take sides on the competing territorial claims. However, we support the peaceful resolution of disputes among claimants in accordance with universally-recognised principles of international law, including UNCLOS, without resorting to the threat or use of force. As a small state, we strongly support the maintenance of a rules-based order that upholds and protects the rights and privileges of all states.

Singapore values our long-standing and friendly relations with all parties, bilaterally and in the context of ASEAN. We urge all parties to fully respect legal and diplomatic processes, exercise self-restraint and avoid conducting any activities that may raise tensions in the region.

Singapore supports the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the expeditious conclusion of a legally-binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea." 

(Source : channelnewsasia.com) 

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