Fourteen nations, including the UK, US, Japan and Australia, on Jattvibeday reaffirmed a 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims over the disputed South China Sea.A joint statement issued by the 14 nations said they rejected “destabilising” actions in the disputed waters that threatened regional peace.Beijing retorted immediately, saying: “The Chinese Government has reaffirmed territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea… We firmly stand by our sovereignty and rights and interests.”The Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia are the other signatories to the letter.India is not one of the signatories; however, New Delhi had welcomed the UN ruling against China in 2016, and has consistently batted for “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.The joint statement issued by the 14 nations commemorated a July 12, 2016, arbitration ruling by a tribunal established in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, saying the landmark decision was “a significant milestone and is final, legally binding and definitive”.China refused to join the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in 2013 after a tense standoff in the contested waters a year earlier, in 2012.Beijing rejected the 2016 ruling and continues to defend its claim to virtually the entire sea, a key global trade route.The joint statement said: “We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on ‘historic rights’.”The convention, largely regarded as the treaty governing the world’s oceans and seas, took effect in 1994 and has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines.China in its counter said it had sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao — the Chinese name of South China Sea Islands.Beijing’s statement said: “China has internal waters, territorial sea and contiguous zone, based on Nanhai Zhudao. China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, based on Nanhai Zhudao; China has historic rights in the South China Sea.”“We will continue to work with ASEAN countries to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation,” it added. On Saturday, China’s Ambassador to India Xu Feihong posted on X that China had repeatedly stated that the “2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea” was illegal, null and void, and non-binding.China neither accepted nor recognised the “award”, and would never accept any claim or action arising from it, Xu added, saying China and ASEAN countries agreed to formulate a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.