China's clear-cut stance in response to the arbitration case unilaterally pushed forward by the Philippines on its dispute with China in the South China Sea can be generalized as "non-acceptance, non-participation, non-recognition and non-compliance".

The arbitration case submitted by the Philippines to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is in essence about the territorial sovereignty of some islands and reefs in the South China Sea, a jurisdiction that is beyond the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and also inapplicable to the Convention's explanations.

Given that land territorial ownership is the legal basis to demarcate the maritime rights of coastal states according to international law, a judgment about maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea can be made only after territorial sovereignty is determined.