Beijing calls for dialogue with Manila but insists Philippines drop South China Sea Hague case

China has called on the Philippines to stop its international court proceedings on the South China Sea territorial disputes, but also stressed that it was still open to dialogue with Manila to settle the issue.

The call on Wednesday from the foreign ministry comes ahead of a ruling expected from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in a case filed by the Philippines against China over islands in the contested waters.

The ministry said in a statement that China continued to ­neither accept nor take part in the case and was committed to ­settling the disputes through ­bilateral negotiation.

“China urges the Philippines to immediately cease its wrongful conduct of advancing the arbitration proceedings, and return to the right path of settling the relevant disputes in the South China Sea... through bilateral negotiation with China,” it said.

Beijing has rejected the court’s jurisdiction over the issue, refused to take part in the proceedings and vowed to ignore its ruling.

“On issues concerning territory and maritime delimitation, China does not accept any means of dispute settlement imposed on it; nor does China accept any recourse to third-party settlement,” the ministry said.