Three months ago, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to the resources in the West Philippine Sea (also known as the South China Sea), and thus that the Philippines has exclusive rights to the territory. China rejected the ruling, and an icy chill overcame the once-friendly bilateral relationship. It is time to bring back some warmth.

To solve the misperceptions the Philippines and China have toward the other’s intentions in the South China Sea, both sides should be more open to understanding the rationale of each other’s actions and behavior, commit to non-militarization of the disputed areas while refraining from using confrontational rhetoric, and not force each other’s red lines in public so as to avoid either party from losing face.

Has the Arbitral Tribunal decision on the South China Sea been misconstrued by main stream U.S. media? Don M. Tow explores the legality of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Ruling, as well as the geopolitical motivations behind it, concluding that the U.S. is responsible for creating unnecessary conflicts with China and destabilizing peace in Asia, as well as the whole world.

While the U.S. calls for respect of the given ruling under the Law of the Sea Convention, of which the U.S. is not a signatory, none of the predicted responses from China and the Philippines have come true. On the contrary, both have opted for ‘strategic restraint,’ choosing to use dialogue in order to find common ground.

The United States and China perceive the South China Sea issue in starkly different terms.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he expects talks with China on their South China Sea dispute within a year and he would not raise an international ruling rejecting China's claims there when he attends a regional summit next month.

The arbitral panel had an opportunity to chart a constructive approach to one of the foremost legal questions of the Asia-Pacific. However, where it should have chosen to foster mutually cooperative tendencies on ill-understood provisions of the law, the award performed a disservice with consequences that will reverberate for a considerable time to come.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not raise long-simmering maritime disputes with China at a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Laos next month, preferring to talk quietly with Chinese officials.

On August 10-11, Philippine Former President and Special Envoy Fidel V. Ramos met in Hong Kong with his old friends －Madam Fu Ying and Professor Wu Shicun in a friendly atmosphere. They discussed, in their private capacity, the way forward in the spirit of universal brotherhood and sisterhood for peace and cooperation between the two countries.

The once anticipated expansive maritime entitlements of numerous small maritime features have now been determined to possess nothing greater than a 12 nautical mile territorial sea. Now, all of the claimants in the South China Sea should be able to step back and reassess how they view the region both diplomatically and peacefully.