BEIJING, Jul. 13 (People’s Daily) A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that China strongly dissatisfied with the press statement issued by the US State Department on the award issued by the South China Sea arbitration tribunal unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a statement that China is firmly opposed to the U.S. statement and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side.

The U.S. statement turned a blind eye to the facts and endorsed an award that is illegal and invalid, Lu said, stressing the U.S. act went against the spirit of rule of law as well as the basic norms of international law and international relations.

He said that the U.S. statement also went against its declaration of not taking sides on issues concerning territorial disputes.

Lu revealed that the U.S. side is always selective when it comes to the application of international law: citing international law when it sees fit and discarding international law when it sees otherwise.

He urged the U.S. side to think over its words and deeds, stop fanning fires for the illegal arbitration and meddling up the South China Sea, and put an end to undermining China's sovereignty and security interests and escalating regional tensions.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday said that the award was binding on both parties and that the U.S. expected China and the Philippines both to comply with their obligations under it.

Lu said Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a statement expounding on the solemn position of the Chinese government on the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Philippine side and the so-called ruling.