(VOVworld)- The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague, the Netherlands, on Tuesday ruled that China violated the Philippines’s sovereign rights in exploring resources surrounding the Reed Bank in the East Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman Hong Lei

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the PCA’s ruling, insisting that China will never accept any announcement or action based on the PCA’s ruling. In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry emphasized that territorial sovereignty and China’s marine rights and interests in the East Sea will not be affected by the PCA’s ruling. This is the first international ruling regarding the East Sea disputes. The PCA ruled that China’s claims to “historical rights” over waters within its “nine-dash line” are contrary to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and that there is no legal basis for China to claim historical rights to resources within the sea area of the nine-dash line. China has interfered with the traditional fishing rights of the Philippines in Scarborough Shoal and has raised tensions with the Philippines whenever efforts have been made to resolve the disputes. The PCA ruling said no islands in the Truong Sa archipelago give China a right to an Exclusive Economic Zone and that China has caused irreparable harm to Truong Sa’s coral reef ecosystem.