China rebuffed a joint press release by Japan and East Timor that voiced concern over the South China Sea in Beijing on March 17.

"Japan is not eligible to make comments on the South China Sea issue. However, it actively misled the public and smeared China in the international community recently, regardless of basic facts. I want to tell the Japanese side that doing so will be vain. It will only make the Chinese people see clearly some Japanese people's mentality," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang at a regular press briefing.

Reports said Japan and East Timor expressed "serious concern over the recent situation in the South China Sea" in a joint press release issued after the meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and East Timorese President Taur Matan Ruak in Tokyo on March 17. The two sides also mentioned a South China Sea arbitration filed by the Philippines.

"We also hope relevant countries can distinguish right from wrong and be cautious with its words and deeds, not to be taken advantage of by some malicious country for the sake of its own interest," Lu added.

The spokesperson also reiterated China's rejection and non-acceptance to the Philippines' arbitration. "We will not accept any unilateral resort to a third-party dispute settlement," he noted.

The Philippines, disregarded the agreement already reached with China on solving the South China Sea disputes through bilateral negotiation and consultation, violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and misused the arbitration procedure stipulated by UNCLOS. Its so-called unilateral arbitration is illegal and invalid, which has no binding effect on China whatever the result, Lu added.

He stressed that the Chinese Government always stands for negotiation and consultation to solve territorial disputes and maritime jurisdiction dispute with its neighboring countries.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2016)