Almost half of the 25 panelists were Chinese scholars; the remaining were scholars from Cambodia, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, many of whom questioned the PCA ruling. Reiterating Beijing's stance, Mr Zheng said maritime disputes between the Philippines and China should be resolved bilaterally. Calling the PCA a "makeshift tribunal" and its rulings a "political farce" that was funded by Manila, Chinese scholars reiterated their stance that maritime disputes must be resolved bilaterally, not multilaterally. The PCA also said China had inflicted severe environmental damage while building artificial islands atop reefs in the area. Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, told the seminar Beijing hoped Washington would have played a positive and neutral role in the South China Sea disputes, not seeing China as its rival.

Source: Bangkok Post July 18, 2016 21:00 UTC