JAPAN and the Philippines joined forces on Thursday to call on China to observe the rule of law in resolving maritime disputes after an international tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Perfecto Yasay in the southern Philippine city of Davao where both pledged to work closely to boost maritime security while facing separate sea disputes with China.
“We have agreed that in the pursuit of the solution to the conflict in the maritime area, it is important to base ourselves on the rule of law and resort to peaceful means and not the use of force or coercion,” Kishida said, referring to the UN-backed tribunal’s finding published in July.

“We invoke and urge China to make sure that maritime security and the rule of law must completely and uncompromisingly be respected,” Yasay said in his statement.
Japan and China are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, while Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
China claims historic rights to the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) through its so-called “nine-dash line,” which was invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on July 12.
Kishida on Tuesday called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing’s envoy to Tokyo, following what Japan calls “intrusions” by Chinese ships near the disputed islands for five consecutive days.
Tensions over the disputes have mounted since the tribunal’s decision, with China angrily rejecting it and announcing penalties for “illegal” fishing in its waters including the disputed areas.

http://www.manilatimes.net/ph-japan-to-china-respect-law-in-sea-row/279387/