China: Support growing on its South China Sea claim

China’s foreign ministry on Thursday brushed off doubts about how many countries have offered support for its position in a case brought by the Philippines over Chinese claims in the South China Sea, saying the number of nations was growing daily.

China has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by the permanent court of arbitration in the Hague on the Philippine case. China refuses to recognise the case and says all disputes should be resolved through bilateral talks.

China says more than 40 countries have offered support for its position, the most recent being Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. But only eight countries have come out in public support, including land-locked nations such as Niger and Afghanistan, says Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The US warned China on Wednesday against taking \"additional provocative actions\" following an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing's broad territorial claims.

Colin Willett, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Washington had “a lot of options” to respond to any such Chinese moves in a region she said was vital to US interests. She also made clear that with a ruling expected possibly within weeks, the United States was working to rally sometimes wavering allies and partners in the region to ensure a unified front.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said public reports showed at least 47 countries offering support, though the figure was not complete as some nations’ backing had not been publicly reported.

“The number of people supporting China rises by the day, so I have no way of giving you a precise figure,” she told a daily news briefing, adding that the actual number was not the most important thing.

“As long as you have an objective and impartial position, as long as you understand the main points of the history of the South China Sea and the essence of the so-called ‘arbitration case’, any unbiased country, organisation or person will unhesitatingly chose China’s just position,” she said. China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of maritime trade passes each year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims.

The Philippines is contesting China’s claim to an area shown on its maps as a nine-dash line stretching deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia, covering hundreds of disputed islands and reefs and encompassing a vital global trade route. The consensus among officials and analysts is that the ruling will go largely against Beijing.