People’s Daily calls for return to negotiating table to resolve South China Sea dispute

After China released a white paper reaffirming its position concerning the South China Sea, the People’s Daily published an editorial on Thursday stating that China would always keep a door open to negotiation and consultation as these are the only way to resolve disputes over the South China Sea.

However, the paper also stressed that China has historically established sovereignty and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea, and the Chinese people have long been the masters of the islands in the South China Sea.

The editorial was published under the pen name Zhong Sheng, a homonym in Chinese for “voice of China” that is often used to express the paper's views on foreign policy.

The following is a translation of the editorial:

China’s State Council on Wednesday issued a white paper to reiterate its position on the South China Sea after the tribunal in The Hague announced its so-called verdict concerning the arbitration that the Philippines unilaterally filed despite China’s repeated objection.

The white paper, titled “China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea,” clarifies the facts behind the disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea and reaffirms China’s consistent position and policies concerning the issue.

Laying out the evidence concerning China’s sovereignty of the waters over the course of its 2,000-plus years of history, the over-20,000-word document is a solemn statement to the world that China has historically established sovereignty and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea, and the Chinese people have long been the masters of the islands in the South China Sea.

After reading the white paper, anyone with a conscience should have no excuse to tolerate the distortion of right and wrong that has occurred.

China stated that it would not participate in the process nor accept any verdictsas soon as the Aquino administration started this flawed political farce in 2013 by unilaterally filing the South China Sea arbitration

Peace-loving countries both in and outside the region also voiced their strong support of China’s stance that disputes should be resolved through negotiation and consultation.

This support not only demonstrated these countries’ recognition of China’s efforts in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea, but also indicated that the international community expects China to resolve relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation with those parties directly concerned.

For historical reasons, there are still many complicated disputes concerning sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. The solution to this is not a simple matter of drawing a line of maritime delimitation. For such a line to be accepted and respected, aspects such as history, the law, politics and even national feelings must also be taken into account.

For those regional countries whose interests and destinies are tightly interwoven, negotiation and consultation among related parties is a far better way to solve these complex and sensitive disputes than going through some third-party mechanism.