Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Wednesday it is now time for China and the Philippines to proceed with the diplomatic process.
"The legal basis for us to move forward in making sure that our disputes with China is concerned will be resolved peacefully...that legal basis will now have to give way to the diplomatic processes that we have to pursue precisely for the peaceful resolution of these disputes," Yasay told a news conference.
At the same time, Yasay expressed hope that "China will come up with a position that would allow this bilateral talks to proceed."
"We would hope that in the negotiations with China or engagement with China for bilateral talks we would be able to settle our dispute as regards to (South) China Sea within the ambit of international law and the 1982 UNCLOS," he said.
He added that "Whether you would like to say that it will make reference to the arbitral tribunal is something that may or may not happen."
In addition, Yasay said "the case we filed before the arbitral tribunal with respect to our dispute with China concerns China and the Philippines alone."
"And resolving that dispute within the context of international law on UNCLOS is a matter for China and the Philippines to resolve," he said.
