Ramos said there would be ample opportunities for talks between the two governments at a series of upcoming international gatherings. The July 12 ruling by the panel in the Hague, Netherlands, ruled China's maritime claims had no basis in international law. Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos said Friday that China has welcomed him to visit Beijing for discussions in the wake of last month's international arbitration panel's ruling in favor of the Philippines over China's South China Sea maritime claims. However, Ramos told reporters at a brief news conference that the ruling had not been directly discussed and gave no indication of when the Beijing talks might be held and suggested another negotiator might take his place. Ramos said in a statement that he met in Hong Kong with the Chinese legislature's foreign affairs chief Fu Ying and a leading government-backed scholar on the dispute, and agreed on the need to reduce tensions through talks.

Source: ABC News August 12, 2016 02:50 UTC