China released a report on Thursday to reaffirm its firm objection to the South China Sea arbitration ruling, saying the ruling severely damages the international legal order and maritime governance.

The report claims to disclose the political background of the arbitration tribunal and the historical errors of its ruling, and aims to promote relevant parties to resolve disputes through negotiation and manage crises through rule-based approaches.

The report was compiled by the Huayang Center for Marine Cooperation and Ocean Governance, the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, and the Chinese Society of International Law. It analyzed the essence of the disputes, scrutinized the jurisdictional issues of the arbitration ruling, provided legal interpretations on historical rights and the status of islands and archipelagos, and investigated the representation of the arbitration tribunal, aiming to expose the errors of the ruling and its detrimental impact on international legal order.

Highlighting that it has been eight years since the unilateral arbitration initiated by the Philippines, the report emphasized that rather than resolving territorial and maritime delimitation disputes in the South China Sea, the ruling has further complicated an already intricate situation. It criticized the ruling for undermining the integrity, balance and seriousness of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and shaking confidence in the convention's dispute resolution mechanisms.

The report also condemned certain countries, both within and beyond the region, for endorsing the invalid arbitration ruling, which it views as a strategic misjudgment to bolster unilateral claims and an ill-intentioned effort to disrupt China's relations with ASEAN countries.

Reaffirming China's stance on the arbitration and its ruling, the report stated that the Chinese government will continue to adhere to the policy of "non-participation" and "non-acceptance," and that the Chinese government will not recognize the illegal ruling made by the arbitration tribunal nor accept any claims or actions based on that ruling.