In January 2013, the Philippines filed a case against China claiming that Beijing had violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by its actions in the South China Sea. Earlier on Tuesday, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to South China Sea resources and violated sovereign rights of the Philippines in the country’s exclusive economic zone.
"Japan has always insisted on the importance of the rule of law and the use of peaceful means, not the use of force and coercion. The countries concerned should submit to today's decision of the Arbitration Court. Japan hopes that, by complying with that decision of the countries concerned, the conflict over the South China Sea will be peacefully settled," Kishida said.