MANILA - China is standing by its position on the landmark ruling invalidating its sweeping claims in the South China Sea seven years on on Wednesday.

"The award is illegal, null and void. China does not accept or recognize it, and will never accept any claim or action based on the award," a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, which decided on the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China in 2013 as part of a dispute mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, declared on July 12, 2016 that Beijing's nine-dash line claims in the South China Sea based on history has no legal basis.

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China and the Philippines are among 169 parties of the UNCLOS.

According to the embassy spokesperson, "The Arbitral Tribunal gravely violated UNCLOS and general international law," a view debunked by the Philippines and other foreign governments, as well as experts.

The spokesperson also accused the United States as being the "mastermind behind the South China Sea arbitration" and of roping in "allies to play up the issue each year on the anniversary of the illegal award to gang up against China and to exert pressure, and force China into accepting the award."

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Then Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario said during the filing of the case in January 2013 that "the initiation of Arbitral Proceedings against China on the nine-dash line is an operationalization of President (Benigno) Aquino’s policy for a peaceful and rules-based resolution of disputes in the (West Philippine Sea) in accordance with international law specifically UNCLOS."

Manila's move against Beijing, which resulted after several years of bilateral negotiations failed to come up with solution, was likened to the David and Goliath biblical story.

Before and during the arbitration proceedings, China took control of some features in the South China Sea, reclaiming some of those and fortifying them with military installations, while also aggressively driving away even up to the present time Philippine vessels and fishermen.

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US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday that his country continues to "urge Beijing to comport its maritime claims with international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention."

"The claim by China that it will not accept the award is against the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, in particular UNCLOS, and undermines the rule of law as a fundamental value of the international community," Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said in a separate statement.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson said countries outside the region must stop using the South China Sea issue "to drive wedges among regional countries, and refrain from being a troublemaker to peace and stability in the South China Sea."

Several other countries have expressed their support for the Philippines and the Hague ruling, including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, India, and the European Union.

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the country's move to take China to court was taking "the path of principle, the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes."

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