Beijing is rallying the court of public opinion ahead of an international arbitration ruling on the Philippines’ legal challenge against Chinese maritime claims.

A senior Chinese diplomat on Thursday amplified Beijing’s grounds for rejecting the tribunal’s authority over the dispute and sought to cast the Philippines as irresponsibly pursuing a frivolous lawsuit.

“Any ruling issued by an institution that lacks authority to do so, is naturally non-legally binding,” Xu Hong, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s department of treaty and law, told reporters. “And naturally, there’s also no issue over recognition or implementation of the ruling.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/05/12/hague-rs-gonna-hague-beijing-amps-up-opposition-to-south-china-sea-tribunal/