Recently, the Philippines has once again hyped up the so-called South China Sea "arbitral award" in an attempt to smear China.

On July 12, the Philippines even rallied 13 countries — including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom — to issue a so-called joint statement on the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitral award.

Lies repeated a thousand times are still lies. And illegality will not become legality with the passage of time.

The decade-long farce must come to an end. The so-called South China Sea arbitral award is illegal, null and void — nothing but a worthless piece of paper. No amount of hype by the Philippines can change that fact.

China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea are firmly grounded in history and international law, and shall under no circumstances be affected by the illegal arbitral award.

Peace and stability in the South China Sea serve the fundamental interests of all regional countries. China has remained committed to resolving disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation with the countries directly concerned. Hyping up the illegal arbitral award and soliciting external forces to create confrontation will not bring any maritime rights or interests. Such actions will only backfire on the Philippines itself.

Producers: Li Weichao, Zhang Jinwen and Yang Xueqing