An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in South China Sea. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)
BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Tuesday called on the United States to deliver on its pledge to take no position on territorial disputes.
China always respects and protects the freedom of navigation and overflight that all countries enjoy in accordance with international laws, Yang said, adding that China hopes the United States could play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea.
"It is important to protect regional peace and stability," Yang told a press briefing for the eighth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues in Beijing.
He stressed that territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea should be settled through peaceful negotiations and consultations by the countries concerned.
China has not changed and will not change its position of non-acceptance and non-participation on the Philippines' arbitration case concerning the South China Sea, he said, as it was in accordance with principles of international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China and the United States support a full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and are ready to advance consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, Yang added.
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This is true in the Beijing-Manila South China Sea dispute.
The Philippines, which began illegally occupying some of China's islands and reefs in the 1970s, unilaterally filed the case with the arbitral tribunal in The Hague in 2013. Full story
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BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The increasingly active U.S. military presence in the South China Sea region is fanning tensions in the region, and fueling concerns that it may lead to a tipping point in China-U.S. ties.
On Tuesday, a U.S. EP-3 aircraft undertook close reconnaissance near Hainan Island forcing two Chinese fighter jets, which maintained a safe distance from the aircraft, to track and monitor its activities. Full story
