MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The safest way to solve the South China Sea dispute is to hold bilateral talks between the parties involved and not to internationalize the issue, experts from Russia say.
"The Chinese leadership is trying to build a two-way interactive format with the Philippines, Vietnam and others. This is a position that we certainly welcome," said Sergei Luzianin, acting director of the Institute for Far Eastern Studies from the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In early 2013, the Philippines initiated proceedings against China at the Permanent court of Arbitration in the Hague, the Netherlands, alleging that China's "maritime claims" contradicted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which became effective in November 1994.
The tribunal is expected to pass a ruling later this month.
China has officially refused to participate in arbitration, saying that territorial issues are subject to international law and not UNCLOS.
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