BEIJING, Oct 17 � China today asked �other countries� to stay away from its maritime dispute with Vietnam over oil exploration in South China Sea in view of recent agreement between Beijing and Hanoi to settle the differences through negotiations.
�The fact that China and Vietnam have agreed to settle maritime disputes through negotiations has nothing to do with a third party.
�We expect the third party to respect the efforts by the countries concerned to resolve the disputes through negotiations,� Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a daily briefing here.
Liu�s comments came in the backdrop of the Philippines expressing reservations over the latest China-Vietnam joint statement and called for a multilateral approach, rather than a bilateral agreement, to resolve disputes concerning the South China Sea.
�China-Philippines maritime disputes can only be resolved through direct negotiations between China and the Philippines, a stance the Philippines is quite clear about,� Liu said.
He was referring to the joint statement issued at the end of the visit of Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong from October 11 to 15.
The statement said both countries reaffirmed their political will and determination to settle maritime issues through negotiations and friendly consultations.
China had also objected to ONGC Videsh�s oil exploration in two Vietnamese blocks, which India brushed away saying it was very much under the international law. � PTI
