中國抨擊即將裁決的南海仲裁案

China has issued a stark rebuke of alooming court decision on its maritime claims in the South China Sea, with asenior official labelling the lawsuit launched by the Philippines “a viciousact aimed at deception”.

中國對即將出爐的南中國海仲裁結果發出嚴厲譴責，一名高級官員稱菲律賓提起的這一訴訟是一起旨在欺騙的惡劣行爲。

Xu Hong, director of treaties and law atthe foreign ministry, reiterated Beijing’s position that a UNarbitration tribunal in The Hague had no jurisdiction when it came to a lawsuitover the status of 15 islands, reefs and shoals claimed by China.

中國外交部條約法律司司長徐宏重申了北京方面的立場，即海牙聯合國仲裁庭對南海仲裁案沒有管轄權，該案件涉及中國聲索的15個島嶼、珊瑚礁和淺灘的法律歸屬。

The tribunal, launched in 2013, will rulebased on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which counts both Beijing andManila as signatories.

南海案仲裁庭於2013年成立，將依據《聯合國海洋法公約》(UN Convention on the Law of the Sea)作出判決，中國和菲律賓都是該公約的締約國。

Mr Xu said the process was a “typical actof abuse of dispute resolution mechanisms”and Beijing had nointention to abide by the court’s decision, which he expected soon. China has not appeared at thetribunal.

徐宏表示這一過程屬於“典型的濫用公約”，預計仲裁庭將於近期作出裁決，中國政府並不打算遵守裁決。中國沒有出席仲裁審理。

At issue is its claim to a historic zone ofinfluence marked by the so-called nine-dash-line, which covers 90 per cent ofthe South China Sea. The territorial rights date back 2,000 years, according toBeijing, which claims dozens of tiny islands, shoals, reefs and underwaterrocks throughout the sea.

爭論焦點是中國依據所謂的九段線所主張的歷史性權利範圍，它涵蓋了南中國海90%的海域。北京方面表示中國在南中國海的領土權利可追溯至2000年前，其聲索對象包括整個南中國海上幾十個小島、沙洲、暗礁和海底岩石。

Experts say the court will almost certainlyreject those claims, and, with them, much of the rationale for China’s interpretationof the nine-dash line.

專家表示海牙仲裁庭幾乎肯定會拒絕這些主張，以及中國對九段線說明的大多數闡釋。