China on Tuesday rejected an international ruling on the South China Sea, which went in favour of the Philippines, as “null and void” and devoid of any “binding force”. “Before the implementation of the so-called rebalance of the Asia-Pacific by the US, the South China sea was very tranquil and peaceful. The tribunal at the PCA also ruled that Beijing does not have a "historic title" over the waters of the South China Sea. Mr. Lu attributed the current crisis in the South China Sea mainly to the US Rebalance doctrine that has led to accumulation of US forces in the Asia-Pacific. Our door to that is widely open,” observed Lu Kang, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in his daily briefing on Tuesday.

Source: The Hindu July 12, 2016 14:03 UTC