Summary
On July 12, 2026, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement opposing a joint statement from 14 countries, including the US, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, and the UK, which marked the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration award. The statement reaffirmed China's sovereignty and historic rights over the South China Sea islands, said the arbitration case violated international law, and described the so-called 'award' as an illegal, invalid, and non-binding document that China neither accepts nor recognises. It emphasised that freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea is not a problem, and that militarisation by external countries is the main challenge.
The statement warned that if the arbitration standard were applied, many countries' islands and reefs would lose maritime entitlements, and urged relevant countries to stop creating trouble.
Commentary
The South China Sea carries a third of global maritime trade, making it critical for a trade-dependent economy like New Zealand. The joint statement could heighten regional tensions, pushing up shipping insurance and rerouting costs, directly squeezing profits of small and medium exporters. However, since the upgrade of the NZ-China FTA, tariff advantages for dairy, meat and other products remain, and China's position as New Zealand's largest trading partner has not changed.
Small and medium enterprises need to be alert to geopolitical risk transmission, but overreaction is unnecessary – freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has not been materially hindered in the past decade, and pragmatic business exchanges remain the norm.
Keywords: South China Sea arbitration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, statement, sovereignty, joint statement, illegal award, United States, not accept or recognise, Philippines
Summary in Chinese | 摘要
2026年7月12日，中国外交部发表声明，坚决反对美国、菲律宾、澳大利亚、加拿大、爱沙尼亚、德国、意大利、日本、拉脱维亚、立陶宛、新西兰、罗马尼亚、斯洛文尼亚、英国等14国炒作南海仲裁案裁决十年的联合声明。声明重申中国对南海诸岛拥有主权和历史性权利，指出仲裁案违反国际法，所谓‘裁决’是一张非法无效没有拘束力的废纸，中国不接受、不承认。声明强调南海航行自由安全不存在问题，域外国家军事化是主要挑战，若按裁决标准多国岛礁将失去海洋权益，敦促有关国家停止挑事生非。
Commentary in Chinese | 评论
南海承载全球三分之一海运贸易，对新西兰这样的贸易依赖型经济体至关重要。联合声明可能加剧区域紧张，推高航运保险与绕行成本，直接挤压中小出口商利润。不过，中新自贸协定升级后，乳制品、肉类等关税优势仍在，中国作为最大贸易伙伴的现实未变。
中小企业需警惕地缘政治风险传导，但不必过度反应——过去十年南海航行自由并未实质受阻，务实商业往来仍为主流。
关键词: 南海仲裁案, 中国外交部, 声明, 主权, 南海诸岛, 联合声明, 非法裁决, 美国, 不接受不承认, 菲律宾