Full coverage: South China Sea Is Indisputable Part of China

Philippines' incoming foreign minister Perfecto Yasay says only bilateral talks between the Philippines and China could untangle the disputes in the South China. Chinese Foreign Ministry in response welcomed Yasay's statement and said it hopes the two countries could handle the disputes through direct negotiations.

"We hope the new Philippine government will honor its commitments to the related consensus and return to the orbit of bilateral dialogue and go in the same direction as China, and properly handle the related disputes so as to contribute to a healthy and stable development of the bilateral relations，" said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry.