Paul Reichler (Photo : UN PCA)
Even though Beijing is flexing its military might in the South China Sea dispute, China also wants to avoid being an international pariah as the verdict of the U.N. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) comes out on Tuesday, July 12.
Ahead of the ruling, which has high chances of being in favor of the Philippines, according to Paul Reichler, chief attorney of Manila in the PCA case, China said it would be willing to talk with the Philippines on the issue if Manila would ignore the PCA ruling, reported Reuters.
China Daily reported that the two countries could tackle “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.”
Although the newspaper, which is run by the Chinese government, did not name the person who made the offer to the Philippines, it said he is “close to the issues between the two countries.”
In pushing now for a dialogue with the PCA ruling so closed, China cited a 1995 agreement between the two neighbors to settle South China Sea disputes in a peaceful and friendly way via consultations, based on mutual respect and equity.
However, while pushing for talks, from July 5 until 11, China will conduct military drills in the contested area, reported Quartz. The exercises would be held over 100,000 square kilometers of water covered by a perimeter of 1,300 square kilometers. China said no other vessels would be allowed in the area during those six days.
