SARAYEVO, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - China will be the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to present its arguments over the legitimacy of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia at the International Court of Justice on Monday.

The Hague Court opened hearings on the legitimacy of Kosovo independence on December 1. They are to run until December 11, but the court decision is expected in April at the earliest.

The hearings involve representatives from a total of 28 countries, including the five permanent Security Council members - Russia and China on Serbia's side and the United States, Britain and France supporting Kosovo.

China has repeatedly expressed serious concern over Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence warning that the move could severely destabilize the Balkan region and insisted that the best way to resolve the Kosovo issue was that Serbia and Kosovo reach a plan acceptable for both sides through negotiation.

Many experts believe, though, that China is not concerned so much about stability in the Balkan region as it is within its own nation which has large numbers of minority groups like the Tibetans who could use Kosovo as precedent in their own strive to become an independent nation.

Kosovo was a southern autonomous province within Serbia before the breakup of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Among its population of 2 million, over 90% are ethnic Albanians and Serbs make up about 7%.

The province has been under UN administration since 1999, after NATO air-strikes drove out Serbian forces from the province.

The unilateral independence of Kosovo, which was declared in February 2008, has so far been recognized by 63 of the 192 UN member-states.