HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 20 G7 countries oppose China's militarization in the South China Sea, according to a communiqué following the summit.
«There is no legal basis for China's extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China's militarization activities in the region,» the document says.
The Chinese military has previously accused the United States of seeking to militarize the South China Sea
Beijing has been arguing with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the ownership of a number of islands in the South China Sea for decades , on the shelf of which significant reserves of hydrocarbons were discovered. First of all, we are talking about the Xisha archipelago (Paracel Islands), the Spratly Islands (Nansha), one of which is the island of Pag-asa (Titu), and Huangyan (Scarborough reef). Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines are involved to varying degrees in this dispute.
The situation in the region is often complicated by the passage of US warships here, which, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, violate international law and undermine China's sovereignty and security. Despite protests from Beijing, official Washington declared that the United States would «float and fly» wherever international law permitted it.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2016 on a lawsuit filed by the Philippines that China had no grounds for territorial claims in the South China Sea. The court decided that the disputed territories of the Spratly (Nansha) archipelago are not islands and do not form an exclusive economic zone. Then Beijing replied that it does not consider the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague valid, does not recognize and does not accept it.