China military says South China Sea ruling won't affect sovereignty

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday no matter how an arbitration court rules on a case about the South China Sea it will not affect China's sovereignty. "No matter what kind of ruling is to be made, Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," it said, in a bilingual Chinese and English statement. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)