🇨🇳China · UNGA 81 speech

President, China would like to exercise its right of reply in response to the statements by Japan and the Philippines. In a statement on September 20, Second, Japan stated that as a peace-loving nation, it is committed to its exclusively defense-oriented policy and calls for the deletion of the enemy state clauses from the UN Charter. China firmly opposes this. Rather than what Japan says, the international community should care more about what Japan does. In the course of history, Japanese militarists brazenly launched wars of aggression and committed numerous heinous crimes, including the illegal occupation of China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea, inflicting immense suffering on the people of China and the region. Back then, Japan joined the UN after recognizing its militarist crimes and accepting the UN Charter in its entirety. The post-war country for peace image that Japan seeks to establish can only be realized by repenting its history and making a clear break from militarism. However, more than 80 years later, the Takeuchi government turns a blind eye to Japan's historical crimes. Instead of self-reflection, it has spared no effort to glorify and whitewash them by fabricating narratives about threats from neighboring countries. Among others, it attempts to cover up its ongoing expansion of military capacities. In recent years, Japan has been drastically increasing military spending, relaxing restrictions on export of lethal weapons, advancing the deployment of intermediate and long-range missiles, strengthening offensive military capacities. stockpiling large amounts of sensitive nuclear materials, pushing for amending its pacifist constitution, attempting to break free from the three non-nuclear principles, and even clamoring for becoming a war-capable nation. All these facts are proof that Japan's remilitarization has become a real threat to regional and global peace and stability. Upholding the post-war international order, Defending the outcomes of the victory of World War II and maintaining regional peace and stability are the shared responsibility of the international community. The enemy state clauses in the UN Charter are a vital institutional arrangement aimed at preventing fascism and militarism from threatening international peace and security ever again. They provide important institutional safeguards for defending the postwar international order and remain extremely relevant today. Any attempt to deny or glorify the history of aggression, revive militarism, or challenge the postwar international order run counter to peace and justice and will be firmly rejected by all peace-loving nations and people. This year marks the 81st anniversary of the founding of the UN and the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo Trials. China hereby issues its stern warning to Japan's right-wing forces that Japan's only correct path is to strictly abide by its international obligations, make a clean break from militarism and stick to peaceful development. Those running the Japanese government should face history squarely, conduct deep reflections, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions. China will work with all the peace-loving nations in the world to resolutely contain Japan's neo-militarism under the cloak of becoming a normal country and prevent it from getting rampant and from destabilizing and disrupting the region and the world. Regarding the statement by the Philippines on September 26th, China's consistently maintained that the UN is not the appropriate forum to discuss the South China Sea issue. However, China finds it necessary to issue a solemn response to the relevant erroneous claims by the Philippines. China's position on the South China Sea arbitration is consistent and clear. The Philippines in electoral initiation of the so-called arbitration violated such basic principles of international law as state consent and pacta sunt servanda, and violated international law, including UNCLOS. In rendering the award, the arbitral tribunal exceeded its authority and abused its jurisdiction. The award is illegal now and void. It has seriously undermined the principles and spirit of the convention and substantially impaired the authority and integrity of the international law of the sea. China neither accepts nor recognizes the so-called award and opposes and will never accept any claim or action arising from it. This is both to safeguard China's own territorial maritime rights and interests and to uphold the international law of the sea and a fair and equitable international maritime order. The Philippines attempt to play up the fact that a decade has passed since the so-called award is utterly meaningless. The fact is that the award not only cannot solve maritime issues between China and the Philippines, but has increasingly become a tool for the Philippines to expand its territorial and maritime claims, aggravating regional tension and becoming a stumbling block to China-Philippines relations and to peace and stability in the South China Sea. On territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes, China does not accept any dispute settlement solution imposed upon it, and has consistently advocated resolving disputes through negotiation and consultation with the countries directly concerned. China will continue to work with ASEAN countries to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea. Thank you, President.