YANGON, MYANMAR - Myanmar's government has rejected the International Criminal Court's decision to allow prosecutors to open an investigation into crimes committed against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay said at a Friday night press conference that Myanmar stood by its position that the Netherlands-based court has no jurisdiction over its actions.

He cited a Myanmar Foreign Ministry statement from April 2018 that because Myanmar was not a party to the agreement establishing the court, it did not need to abide by the court's rulings.

The court's position is that because Myanmar's alleged atrocities sent more than 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh for safety, it does have jurisdiction because Bangladesh is a party to the court and the case may involve forced jurisdiction.