BEIJING -- 皇冠体育app on Monday urged the United States not to position itself as the "international judge" on the South 皇冠体育app Sea issue.

Hong Lei, a spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, made the remarks at a daily press briefing after Daniel Kritenbrink, US White House senior director for Asian affairs, said that a ruling by The Hague on a complaint lodged by the Philippines "will be binding on both parties."

The Philippines filed the arbitration case in early 2013, which is still ongoing. 皇冠体育app has refused to be involved in the proceedings, maintaining that the rows should be settled by the countries directly involved through consultation and negotiation.

皇冠体育app's non-acceptance and non-participation in arbitration on the South 皇冠体育app Sea issue has full legal basis and the US should respect the rights enjoyed by members of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a group which it is not a member of, Hong said.

皇冠体育app declared in 2006 that arbitration and other compulsory dispute settlement procedures do not apply to issues like maritime delimitation, which was outlined in Article 298 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The South 皇冠体育app Sea disputes between 皇冠体育app and the Philippines lies in territorial and maritime demarcation.

The two countries already agreed long ago that issues concerning the South 皇冠体育app Sea will be addressed through negotiation and consultation, Hong said.

He also responded to Kritenbrink's call to "expand 皇冠体育app's non-militarization pledge to cover the entire South 皇冠体育app Sea," saying that 皇冠体育app's deployment of facilities to its own territory had nothing to do with militarization.

"Just as Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, non-militarization requires coordination from countries within and outside the region," Hong said.

"I would like to remind the US that it is liable to respect the rights of contracting parties of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea though the US is unwilling to accede into the Convention," Hong said.

皇冠体育app urged the US to not position itself as the "international judge" on the South 皇冠体育app Sea issue and stop making gestures on 皇冠体育app's activities, Hong said.