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Title:
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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on July 13, 2017
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Author:
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Geng Shuang
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Source:
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
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Date:
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July 13, 2017
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Description:
- Q: Yesterday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the first anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration. There are comments that the relevant content of this statement has signaled goodwill to the Chinese side and is conducive to further development of China-Philippine relations and regional peace and stability. What's your comment on that? A: I have stated China's principled position yesterday. Today, I should emphasize again that, we agree with the Philippines' statement which stressed territorial dispute should be resolved in the spirit of good neighborliness. At the same time, we also applaud and support the Philippines in upholding an independent diplomatic policy. For over one year, the China-Philippines relations have taken an upturn. The two sides have come back to the right track of settlement through dialogue, consultation and negotiation, established the China-Philippines bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue, and successfully held the first meeting of such mechanism in May. With the concerted efforts of China, the Philippines and other ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea has stabilized and taken on a good trend, and the framework of the COC is also concluded. These positive developments conform to the common interests of the two countries and peoples as well as the shared aspiration of regional countries, which marks an irresistible trend. While firmly upholding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, China has also been committed to peacefully resolving the relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation with countries directly concerned, the Philippines included, and working with the ASEAN countries to jointly uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea. China stands ready to continuously work with the Philippines to properly solve the South China Sea-related issues through dialogue and negotiation, and further create sound atmosphere for the development of China-Philippines relations and relevant cooperation.
