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Photo taken on April 5, 2016 shows the lighthouse on Zhubi Reef of Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, south China. (Xinhua file photo)
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands has already been established and there are no legal reasons for the Philippines'claim for the sovereignty over the Huangyan Island, a Brazilian expert has said.
The islands belong to China and not to the Philippines, and that is a matter already settled decades ago, Carlos Tavares, an author of 10 books on China and a longtime expert of China-Brazil relations, told Xinhua.
He criticized the Philippines for its decision to resort to an arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) based in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The Philippines unilaterally initiated an arbitration from the PCA over the South China Sea disputes in 2013. The Chinese government has reiterated its non-acceptance and non-participation stance in the case.
"This sort of conflict should be solved within Asia's borders, preferably by the two parties only," Tavares said.
On the U.S. influence in the case, Tavares said that it was inappropriate for the North-American country to meddle in matters of the Asian nations.
He said that the United States should keep itself out of Asian matters, leaving to Asian nations the task of solving their own disputes.
"China is not interfering in the matters of the North Atlantic, so why is the U.S. trying to meddle in the matters of the South China Sea?" he said.
Tavares remained optimistic about the resolution of the territorial dispute, noting that the issue should be settled as soon as possible.
The Brazilian expert hoped that the new Philippine government would solve its dispute with China through dialogue.
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