THE Philippines violated international law when it declared before the arbitral tribunal that the disputed Itu Aba or Taiping is a “rock,” a Chinese official said on Friday.

In a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying stressed that the Philippines’ claim on Itu Aba is “completely unacceptable” since it has been proven that the feature can sustain human habitation and has an economic life of its own – enough to meet the criteria for an island as defined in Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

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