China's non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines over islands in the South China Sea is reasonable and legitimate, experts say. 
  
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, has abused its mandate granted by the UN Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by involving itself in a territorial dispute, which is beyond the scope of the convention, they say. 

Saeed Chaudhry, chair of the Islamabad Council for International Affairs 
-- By considering all the facts in the issue, China has the complete right and good reason to reject the arbitration proceedings and not to accept and recognize any verdict by the arbitration. 

Peter Li, an associate professor of the University of Houston Downtown 
-- China's rejection of and non-participation in the arbitration proceedings are in compliance with UNCLOS. 

William Jones, Washington Bureau Chief of U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review 
-- Beijing has "legitimate reasons" to take the stance of non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitration according to the UNCLOS. 
  
Ibrahim Yusuf, chairman of the Indonesian Council on World Affairs 
-- The decision of the international court is not binding. China can choose not to implement it. 

Thomas Cottier, professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland 
-- China's non-acceptance and non-participation position is understandable, as the case is not simply a legal dispute, but involves political factors, and the arbitration initiated by the Philippines is unable to solve the dispute. 

China has reiterated that it will not accept nor participate in the arbitral proceedings unilaterally initiated by the Philippines because it believes the latter has violated international law.