Dual track right course in the South China Sea

Foreign Minister Wang Yi once again stressed a dual-track approach to resolve the South China Sea disputes. Such an approach, namely direct negotiations between disputing parties and joint efforts to maintain peace and stability, is built on consensus between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Wang's remarks, made in Singapore on Monday ahead of the regional security talks in Kuala Lumpur, drive home the message that the disputes should be directly resolved between China and claimant parties through peaceful negotiations, and any attempt to enlist support from outside forces or deviate from the disputes themselves will be counterproductive.

The focus of the South China Sea issue, as Wang pointed out, is the territorial disputes triggered by the illegal occupation of the islands and reefs that belong to China's Nansha Islands. But countries such as the Philippines and the United States have questioned China's nine-dash line, in an attempt to divert attention away from the disputes.