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Beijing has said that it plans to start negotiations with Manila about issues related with the South China Sea, if the Philippines ignores an arbitration ruling over the validity of China’s territorial claims, the China Daily reported on July 4.
The arbitration court ruling is expected next week.
The negotiations could cover ‘issues such as joint development and cooperation in scientific research if the new government puts the tribunal’s ruling aside before returning to the table for talks,’ the China Daily said, citing some unnamed sources that are close to the issues between the two countries.
The Philippines brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague which is expected to issue its ruling on July 12. The case contests China’s claims to the bulk of the South China Sea ‘shown on its maps as a nine-dash line stretching deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia, covering hundreds of disputed islands and reefs’, Reuters reported. But Beijing has already said it plans to ignore the Court’s ruling.