Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang says China would like to resort to the 'dual-track' approach to resolve the South China Sea issue. He made the remarks in response to claims that Rodrigo Duterte, the frontrunner in the Philippines' presidental election, once said that he will settle rows over the South China Sea issue through multilateral talks involving other territory claimant nations, the US, Japan and Australia. But Lu ruled out this possibility.

"China favors and agrees with the 'dual-track' approach initiated by the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with the regard to the South China Sea issue. It means the disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiations between the parties directly involved on the basis of respect of history and in line with international laws. The peace and stability in the South China Sea should be jointly maintained by China and the ASEAN countries. China advocates that prior to a settlement of the disputes, the countries in the region should set rules, establish mechanisms to control disputes and strive for win-win results through exploitation and cooperation,"  Lu said.