China, ASEAN to work together to safeguard peace, stability of South China Sea

Noting the South China Sea has been under spotlight in recent years, Wang said that the South China Sea is not an issue between China and ASEAN as a whole. Therefore, it should not affect the overall interests of China-ASEAN cooperation.

"We have agreed a clear approach to resolving the South China Sea issue, it's the dual-track approach advocated by China. That is, the directly concerned states will properly resolve the South China Sea issue through peaceful negotiation, and in the meantime, China and ASEAN countries will work together to maintain peace and stability of the South China Sea," Wang said, adding that the senior officials meeting for implementing the DOC, and the joint working group for advancing consultation towards a COC have been operating smoothly in addressing the South China Sea issue.

"At the moment, the general situation in the South China Sea is stable and China is steadfastly committed to working with the parties to maintain the situation which has not come easily. And we will never allow any country to destabilize the South China Sea, " he said.

Also at the press conference, the Chinese foreign minister stressed that the nine-dash line should not be the focus of the South China Sea issue, and the focus of the issue is the territorial disputes triggered by the illegal occupation of the islands and reefs that belong to China's Nansha Islands.

The nine-dash line was promulgated by the then Chinese government in 1940s and it has been upheld by the successive governments in China, the minister said.

Wang Reiterated China's positions on the South China Sea, saying China is committed to upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea, peacefully resolving the disputes by ways of negotiation and consultation, managing the differences through developing rules and mechanisms, maintaining the freedom of navigation and flyover and generating win-win results through cooperation.

Stressing that China is also committed to resolving disputes through negotiations with directly concerned countries, Wang who will attend foreign ministers' meetings on east Asian cooperation in coming days in Malaysia, also pointed out that the foreign ministers' meetings are not the proper platforms to solve the disputes.

"China has never believed those multi-lateral forums are the appropriate place for discussing specific bilateral disputes, and our experience so far is that attempts to do so cannot help resolve the underlying issues."