China hopes the Philippines can make a wiser choice in seeking a solution to the South China Sea dispute, Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, said on Tuesday.
Wang made the comment on the sidelines of his meetings with the Filipino president and secretary of foreign affairs in Manila.
“It is a deadlock impeding China-Philippines ties from being improved. We do not want to see it getting worse, becoming a problem that defies a solution. The key to solving this depends on the Philippines’ action, as it should undo what it has already done. We hope the Philippines can make a wiser choice on this issue,” said Wang.
The current situation in China-Philippine relations is not what the people of both countries expect to see and is jeopardizing the interests of the Philippines in the long-run, said Wang.
“China attaches importance to its relationship with the Philippines; we want to work together with the Philippines to overcome the difficulties and reestablish a normal, stable, and healthy bilateral friendship. We also affirm that China agrees to sit down with the Philippines through talks and dialogue to sincerely discuss and seek a solution to any issue undermining China-Philippines relations, including the South China Sea issue,” Wang said.
“There are no situations where the door for negotiation has been closed, or solutions where talks and dialogue have run out. Instead, talks and negotiations are the only feasible way to solve this problem, other than that no way will work. So we hope China-Philippines relations can get back on the track of healthy development as soon as possible,” Wang added. (Reuters)