Chinese people pose for a group photo together after landing at the airfield on the Spratly Islands, also known as Nansha Islands in Chinese, of the South China Sea.

A senior U.S. official says that an upcoming ruling on a case brought by the Philippines to arbitrate territorial claims in the South China Sea will also be binding on China despite its boycott of the proceedings.

China contends it won’t be bound by the ruling that the Hague-based tribunal will deliver this year.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that Beijing did not consent to arbitration and would not reconsider its position.

But White House Asia policy director Daniel Kritenbrink said Friday the ruling will be binding on both nations as parties to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He said that a recent summit, President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders agreed on the need to respect such legal processes for resolving disputes.

Picture above: A pair of Chinese civilian jet airliners landed at the newly created island in a disputed section of the South China Sea in a test to see whether its airstrip was up to standard, state media reported.

The China Daily newspaper said the two planes  made the two-hour flight to Fiery Cross Reef from Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan.

Source: Manilla Bulletin – US: China will be bound by maritime arbitration ruling

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Tags: Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Barack Obama, China, Defence, Military, Philippines, South China Sea, South East Asia, Spratly Islands, United States, Xi Jinping