China warns of military escalation following unfavourable ruling on South China Sea

One day after a UN tribunal ruled overwhelmingly against Chinese claims to huge swaths of the South China Sea, Beijing rebuffed the verdict, calling it “a piece of paper that is destined to come to naught”.

In a 13,900-word white paper, Beijing reportedly claimed the Philippines, which brought forward the case, had “distorted facts, misinterpreted laws and concocted a pack of lies” in order to undermine Chinese interests.

“We do not claim an inch of land that does not belong to us, but we won’t give up any patch that is ours,” Chinese newspaper the People’s Daily said, adding that “China, of course, will not accept such downright political provocations.”

The China Daily, Beijing’s English-language mouthpiece, claimed the “outrageously one-sided ruling” meant military confrontation in the region had become more likely.

The Global Times, a nationalist tabloid that is controlled by the People’s Daily and is known for its inflammatory rhetoric, was even more direct.

Further political or military pressure from the United States – which Beijing has reportedly accused of masterminding the case – would lead the Chinese people to “firmly support our government to launch a tit-for-tat counterpunch”, it warned.

From the US’s side, Washington’s initial response was cautious. “The world is watching now to see what these claimants will do,” state department spokesperson John Kirby said following the ruling. “The world is watching to see if China is really the global power it professes itself to be and the responsible power that it professes itself to be.”

Speaking in Washington, China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, warned that the ruling would “certainly intensify conflict and even confrontation”.