China lauded the Philippines for upholding an independent diplomatic policy and has expressed agreement with the Duterte administration’s statement which stressed that territorial disputes should be resolved in the spirit of good neighborliness. In a press briefing, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said the China-Philippines relations have taken an upturn for the past one year. Shuang said the two sides have “come back to the right track of settlement through dialogue, consultation and negotiation, established the China-Philippines bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue, and successfully held the first meeting of such mechanism in May.”

Mabasa, R. C. (2017, July 15). China lands PH for a stabilized South China Sea. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 6.