Bracing for an adverse verdict by an international tribunal on the South China Sea (SCS) dispute to be delivered tomorrow, China has targeted the judges of the tribunal and the Japanese jurist who appointed them saying he was a “rightist” and “unfriendly to China”.
Officials and media have questioned the neutrality of judges handling the SCS case initiated by the Philippines, Vice Foreign Minister liu Zhenmin questioned the “procedural justice” of the appointment and the operation of the tribunal.
China has directed its ire at Japanese jurist Shunji Yanai branding him as a “rightist” and “unfriendly to China”. Ahead of the verdict, Chinese officials have been saying that the judgement would go against China and the country would not accept it. In an article in the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece magazine ‘Qiushi’, liu also cast doubt on the make-up of the tribunal, saying none of the five judges had knowledge of the history and international order of ancient East Asia, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.