SINGAPORE—China on Saturday said it would ignore the decision of an international arbitration panel in the Philippines’ lawsuit against Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

“To put it simply, the arbitration case actually has gone beyond the jurisdiction” of a United Nations arbitration panel, said Rear Adm. Guan Youfei, director of the foreign affairs office of China’s national defense ministry.

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The Philippines had filed a case in the United Nations under the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, questioning China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration is expected to rule on the case soon.

The court ruled last year it had jurisdiction over the case despite China’s rejection.

“Because the territorial and sovereignty disputes have not been subjected to the arbitration, we think the arbitration is illegal,” Guan told reporters on the sidelines of an international security conference in Singapore. “Therefore, we do not participate in it nor accept it.”

Guan’s statement was a reiteration of China’s longstanding position that it wants to settle its disputes with various countries through bilateral talks and that it will not accept international mediation.

Still, it gains significance because of the overtures made by Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who said recently that he is open to bilateral negotiations with China.

Duterte’s statement has given China an opening that it hopes to leverage in the event the panel rules in favor of the Philippines.

China also has conflicting claims in the sea with Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brunei, who all are looking for US help, much to Beijing’s chagrin.

“The new Philippine leader also said the Philippines hopes to conduct a dialogue with China,” Guan said. “We hope the Philippines could get back onto the track of dialogue. The door to dialogue is always open.”

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Earlier Saturday, India’s defense minister told the conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, that it was in China’s economic interest to reduce tensions in the South China Sea.

“It is ultimately economics,” Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said. “If you have an unstable region like what we have in the Middle East, I don’t think economics and prosperity will really [be] enhanced.”

Parrikar said that however small or “however powerful” a country may be, “no commerce or commercial activity takes place in a highly tense [region]. And I think it is in the interest of everyone, including China, to ensure that the peace remains in this region.”

Separately, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said it was “getting increasingly important for all nations in the region to establish order based on the rule of law.”

Indirectly referring to China, he said that “powerful nations are required to act with self-restraint so as to avoid any contingency.” AP

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