U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an global court ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month.
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President Duterte gave this assurance during his meeting with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday at Malacañang, a Cabinet official said.
Speaking about his visit in Laos, Kerry said that he would encourage Philippine President Duterte to engage in dialogue with Beijing.
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a news conference Duterte and Kerry “affirmed the longstanding relationship” between the United States and the Philippines.
Tensions between the two claimants have exacerbated in recent weeks, following the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling against China’s claim over the disputed maritime territory.
“The decision itself is a binding decision but we’re not trying to create a contradiction, we’re trying to create a solution – mindful of the rights of people that are established under the law”. He added: “We take a position that the rule of law must be upheld”.
Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay had agreed not to mention the court ruling in the statement, Sounry said.
Bonnie Glaser, Director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and Internatonal Studies (CSIS), told VOA that Washington “has not excluded other forms of negotiations and has stressed that multilateral mechanisms should be employed as well, especially when bilateral talks prove fruitless”.
Duterte’s stance has since hardened after Manila won an arbitration case against Beijing before an worldwide tribunal, which invalidated China’s historic claims to areas covered by the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone or EEZ.
“We urge all the claimants to exercise restraint and work to reduce tension”, said Kerry in a statement at the bilateral press briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Kerry said he was satisfied with the Asean statement issued Monday, even if it skipped references to the July 12 ruling.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and also believed to hold vast mineral reserves.
The Chinese government has said in a white paper that the Philippines’ territorial claim over part of Nansha Islands is groundless from the perspectives of either history or worldwide law.
Abella also said Duterte explained his war on crime and drugs to Kerry, who pledged US$32 million in U.S. assistance for “training and services” for law enforcement.
Lu said China urges relevant countries to respect the efforts of the directly-concerned parties to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, and do right things to serve peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We’re not trying to create a confrontation”.
Kerry said he had a “constructive meeting” on how the USA and China would proceed on this issue with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Forum.
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“The foreign minister said the time has come to move away from public tensions and turn the page”, Kerry told a news conference.
