China's foreign minister spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by telephone on Wednesday ahead of a key international court ruling on China's South China Sea claims and warned Washington against moves that infringe on China's sovereignty, Beijing's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhua said Wang Yi repeated China's rejection of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Arbitration in a case the Philippines has brought against China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, calling it a "farce" that should come to an end.
The court, based in The Hague, is due to give its ruling on Tuesday, raising fears of confrontation in the region. U.S. officials say the U.S. response should China stick to its vow to ignore the ruling could include stepped up freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese claimed islands in what is one of the world's business trade routes.
