China tells Japan not to intervene in South China Sea

Beijing, July 24 (IANS) China on Sunday told Japan not to intervene in the South China Sea issue as it was not directly involved in the dispute.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said he would talk about the issue if he has a chance to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the series of Foreign Ministers' meetings involving Asean and other Asian countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Stressing that the South China Sea arbitration was "illegal and invalid" from the very beginning to end, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Beijing's rejection of the award is indeed in accordance with international law and the United Nation's Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"Japan is not a party to the South China Sea issue, and considering its shameful history, it has no rights whatsoever to accuse China on the matter," he said.

The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims among several sovereign states within the region, namely the Nation of Brunei, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, the Republic of the Philippines, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Non-claimants want the South China Sea to remain as international waters, with the United States conducting "freedom of navigation" operations.