China hopes to promote development of Philippine ties
China hopes to work with ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, to maintain "the hard-won good situation" in the South China Sea, and hopes to promote development of China-Philippines ties, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio's remarks of "invasion of Philippine territory by China", the Chinese Commercial News, or Feilyubinshangbao in Chinese, reported.
Duterte said the Philippines has not been invaded and that what Carpio said was not true, according to the report.
"Individual persons in the Philippines laid indiscreet accusations towards China only because they attempted to stir up tension between China and the Philippines," Hua said in response at a daily news conference in Beijing.
China has always been committed to solving the disputes peacefully through talks with the sovereign states directly involved, Hua said.
The spokeswoman added that China hopes to work with ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, "to continue implementing the Declaration on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea comprehensively and effectively" and to actively promote the discussion on a Code of Conduct in the region.