Eventually, the case will be sorted out because the related parties know more about the evidence of China's longtime sovereignty over the South China Sea. I'm delighted that China has started to communicate effectively with the rest of the world to gain their understanding. More confidence- and trust-building efforts should be delivered in the Asian community, and each of us has a long way to go, and we must save energy, put the dispute aside and focus on development.

Sreenivasa Rao Pemmaraju, chief legal adviser to India's Foreign Ministry

The arbitration, raised by the Philippines but refused by China, has brought a lot of difficulties and anxiety, which is not good for any of the parties. We (the United States) should be more responsible in talking to our ally.

Abraham Sofaer, senior fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

China could offer mountains of documents, records and evidence of historical heritage to prove that, since ancient times, Chinese people discovered and used the South China Sea islands and reefs. Despite the Philippines and Vietnam having occupied some islands of the South China Sea, China has refrained from raising disputes. But in recent years, since the US returned to the region, the Philippines has begun to claim sovereignty over the islands, which are owned by China, and this is the very nature of the dispute.

Hu Dekun, dean of Wuhan University's China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies

I'm happy that top law experts worldwide have reached a consensus that the arbitration is questionable, since this legal body has no jurisdiction in a sovereignty dispute under the framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which authorized the establishment of the arbitral tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Against such a background, any verdict is invalid, and China is doing right in accordance with the spirit of international law.

Sienho Yee, chief expert at Wuhan University's China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies

In the arbitration of the Philippines' claim against China, the absence of a disputing party is caused by the lack of the vital element of consent, which is the basis of the tribunal's jurisdiction. This absence is due to a formally declared and widely publicized lack of the consent that the International Court of Justice has declared to be the very basis of the court's jurisdiction in contentious cases.

M.C.W. Pinto, arbitrator in a number of cases and former secretary-general of the Iran-US Claims Tribunal

China has enough legitimate rights under international law to refuse to accept the arbitration, which was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines. So, any verdict from the tribunal is invalid, and the Philippines should come to the negotiation table with China to solve the dispute, and the US should stop helping escalate tensions in the region right now.

Liu Huawen, assistant director at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of International Law

(China Daily European Weekly 07/02/2016 page15)