Full coverage: The South China Sea Issue

Some ASEAN countries have explicitly expressed their opposition against the arbitration. In terms of China-ASEAN relations, Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said China also hopes other countries do not interfere in the dispute or agitate the Philippines to execute the arbitration.

He said, "The South China Sea dispute is between China and the Philippines, not between China and all ASEAN countries. But to be frank, China-ASEAN relations and cooperation have been affected to some degree. Speaking of the Chinese government's policy and wishes, we hope that our cooperation will not be affected. This is what we've been working for during the past 3 years or so. So China's cooperation with ASEAN on the whole has not been greatly affected, but disturbed somehow. We believe that the disputes should be handled within a framework and should be settled through negotiations. China and ASEAN have been working to promote cooperation."