With China's controversial military buildup likely to be a major issue at the ASEAN summit, Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday clearly reiterated Beijing's long-held position that it wants to bilaterally resolve its disputes with its neighbours over the South China Sea.
In an article published in leading newspapers here, Li admitted that the bilateral relationship between China and the Philippines had "encountered a setback" due to the South China Sea issue but it was back on track due to appropriate handling of the issue by the two sides.
The Chinese premier, who is in Manila for the ASEAN and East Asia summits, said Beijing will actively explore joint development of the South China sea to make it a "sea of cooperation and friendship" for the benefit of the two countries.
"China will work with the Philippines to continue to properly handle the maritime issues through friendly bilateral consultation by giving full play to such mechanisms as the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea," Li wrote.
Ahead of the annual summit of the ASEAN, an influential grouping of 10 South East Asian countries, a number of diplomats said the thorny issue of China's aggressive military buildup in the South China Sea may be one of the focus areas of the deliberations on Tuesday.
China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. However, several ASEAN member countries including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei have counter claims.
