China urges US to fulfill promise on territorial disputes

BEIJING -- 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-US 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.