MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI) – The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled that China’s claims to territories in the South China Sea have no legal ground, the Court ruling reads.

The Xinhua News Agency has published the official statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It reads that Chinese government does not accept the ruling of the Court and does not recognize its legal force.

In 2013, Philippine authorities initiated legal proceedings in the Court, claiming that China violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by both Philippines and China. The latter country refused to participate in the legal dispute, claiming that the Court has no proper authority to review the case and called the claims unfounded.

Proceedings were concerned with increased activity of China in the South China Sea. The dispute was instigated, over the development of resources in the disputed maritime areas as well as worries over build-up of Chinese military forces in the region.