MANILA, Philippines — United States officials were concerned over the Philippines' next steps on the dispute over the South China Sea, but the Philippines is not keen on discussions with other parties besides China, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Tuesday. Recounting his meeting with Washington officials, Yasay said he assured them that Manila works within the bounds of the ruling of the international arbitral tribunal on the maritime row to move forward. "They were concerned about the fact that maybe perhaps that we were going to erode whatever gains that we have achieved insofar as the arbitral tribunal ruling is concerned," Yasay said at a press briefing following his trip to the US. Yasay said the dispute over the sea lanes is one between the Philippines and its Asian neighbor. China has repeatedly insisted in its official statements that the US is not a party to the dispute and rejected the arbitral tribunal ruling.

Source: Philippine Star September 27, 2016 04:07 UTC