Full coverage: South China Sea Is Indisputable Part of China

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says President Xi Jinping has congratulated Rodrigo Duterte on his inauguration. Xi said he is willing to work with the new Philippine president to improve their bilateral relations. However, on the South China Sea issue, the foreign ministry said Manila's unilateral approach has flouted international law. It stressed that the arbitration court in The Hague has does not have jurisdiction over the case, and should not hold hearings or make rulings.

"The Philippines' unilateral move to raise the arbitration has violated International law. It has forsaken the consensus between China and the Philippines to resolve disputes through bilateral negotiations. It violated the promises made by the Philippines in the Declaration on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea and to resolve relevant disputes with the parties concerned through dialogue and negotiation. It also violated the International Law and international adjudication mechanism, because the relevant disputes between China and the Philippines concern territorial sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said.