BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state-run Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday (July 12) that the "law-abusing tribunal" hearing a case about the disputed South China Sea had issued an"ill-founded award".

"The tribunal handling the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the former Philippine government issued its final award on Tuesday, amid a global chorus that as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void," the news agency said.

A source with the Philippine Foreign Ministry told Xinhua that the ministry has received the award, the news agency said.

It gave no other details.

An arbitration court in The Hague will rule on Tuesday in a dispute about the South China Sea in which the Philippines is challenging China's right to exploit resources across vast swathes of the waters.