Philippine Foreign Affairs officials are reportedly currently making arrangements with Chinese counterparts to pave way for the formal start of China-Philippines talks on the South China Sea dispute.
The Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Friday that Manila has been in touch with Chinese diplomatic officials to lay the groundwork for the upcoming talks without any pre-conditions.
"The important thing is that we talk," Yasay told reporters at a meeting in the Philippine Embassy in Washington.
Philippine officials claimed that they would continue to work on bilateral talks with China and would push for the ruling as the basis of discussions despite China's opposition to accept any actions or future talks in relation to July 12 arbitral ruling.
It was reported that Beijing will only talk to Manila without the arbitral ruling which rejected China's claims of ownership over territories in the disputed South China Sea.
"Our position has been we will not engage them in talks outside the framework of the tribunal ruling. We are now engaged in the process of making sure these bilateral talks will happen," Yasay said.
