U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Wednesday on China and the Philippines to abide by an international tribunal's decision on the disputed South China Sea and said there was no military solution to the problem.
Kerry's remarks, made in a visit to India, came ahead of a G20 summit in China on Sunday and Monday that could be overshadowed by arguments over everything from territorial disputes to protectionism by China, diplomats say. An arbitration court in The Hague ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea. China dismissed the case lodged by the Philippines and rejected the ruling.
"The United States continues to call on China and the Philippines to abide by the tribunal's recent decision which is final and legally binding on both parties," Kerry told a gathering of students in New Delhi.
