Editor's note: Xu Qi is the vice dean of the Academy of Foreign-related Rule of Law in Jinan University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Ten years have passed since the so-called South China Sea arbitration award was issued, yet the case remains a frequent topic in discussions on regional peace and security. This is neither a genuine legal issue nor a factual dispute – it is, fundamentally, a test of whether countries respect the basic norms of international law and the principle of negotiated settlement between sovereign states. Several core truths can never be distorted.

The first truth is that the arbitration was flawed from the outset and carries no binding force on China. The South China Sea dispute is fundamentally about territorial sovereignty over maritime features, as well as maritime delimitation – matters that fall entirely outside the scope of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

As early as 2006, China had made an official declaration under Article 298 of UNCLOS, excluding disputes concerning territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation from compulsory arbitration. The Philippines unilaterally initiated the arbitration in 2013 after abandoning bilateral negotiations that both sides had previously agreed upon. The arbitral tribunal then overreached by deliberately misinterpreting the scope of the real dispute and expanding its jurisdiction far beyond what international law permits.

Under basic international law, the jurisdictional award rendered by a tribunal lacking jurisdiction is void ab initio. China's consistent position of non-acceptance and non-participation is fully consistent with international law and established international practice.

The second truth is that China's territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea is rooted in long-standing historical practice and cannot be negated by the arbitral award. China was the first country to discover, name, exercise continuous jurisdiction over, and develop the islands and reefs in the South China Sea – a historical claim formed over millennia and long recognized by the international community. No amount of legal sophistry from the tribunal can erase this historical fact.

The award went so far as to deny that China possesses any historic rights in the South China Sea beyond the scope of its dotted line, even claiming that certain features long held by China are "rocks" incapable of sustaining human habitation or economic life and therefore unable to generate exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.

The award deliberately distorts the geographical realities of the South China Sea and ignores the long history of Chinese activities there. It cannot alter the reality that China has exercised sovereignty and sovereign rights over these territories for centuries.

The third truth is that the arbitration has become a tool for certain outside powers to disrupt regional order, rather than a genuine solution to the dispute. From the very outset, the case was never a pure legal proceeding. It was openly supported and promoted by extra-regional powers that have long sought to contain China's development and preserve their own hegemony in the Asia-Pacific.

These countries care nothing for the rule of law or the interests of the South China Sea's littoral states; their sole aim is to use the arbitral award as a political weapon to condemn China, drive a wedge between regional countries and undermine cooperation in the region.

Far from bringing peace and stability, the award has only sown division and confrontation, turning the South China Sea into a front for great-power rivalry that endangers the security and development of regional countries.

The fourth truth is that the only correct path to resolving the South China Sea dispute is through direct negotiation and consultation among the sovereign states concerned. For decades, China has consistently insisted on negotiating directly with countries having overlapping claims to properly manage differences, and has worked with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to advance the development of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

This approach has yielded remarkable results: Over the years, regional countries have sustained dialogue and cooperation, preserved the overall peace and stability in the South China Sea and made the region an engine of global economic growth. More than a decade of practice has demonstrated that bilateral negotiation and consultation is the only approach capable of resolving disputes in a manner acceptable to all parties – far more effective than any compulsory arbitration imposed by a third party.

Today, certain forces still attempt to hype up the illegal and ineffective arbitral award to smear China and disrupt regional cooperation. Yet truth will not be distorted by repeated falsehoods. The key to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea lies in all parties respecting historical facts, upholding the legitimate sovereignty rights of each country and adhering to the path of negotiated settlement. Any attempt to use the flawed arbitral award to infringe upon China's sovereignty and interests or to disrupt regional peace is destined to fail.

Regional countries possess the wisdom and capability to manage their own differences and have no need for any outside hegemon to "uphold justice" on their behalf. The truths of this case are clear, and they will stand the test of time.

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