Full coverage: The South China Sea Issue

China and Serbia signed a joint declaration of 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country last month. Regarding the South China Sea issue, both sides reached an agreement in the declaration that China and the Philippines should resolve disputes through bilateral negotiations.

Zarko Obradovic, Vice President of of the Socialist Party of Serbia, said in an interview with CCTV that negotiation is the most direct and effective way to settle the issue.

As a member of parliament and vice president of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Zarko Obradovic is an expert on geopolitics. He said the Permanent Court of Arbitration has no right to make decisions on the South China Sea issue and that the sovereignty attribution has exceeded the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The Permanent Court of Arbitration is authorized to make decisions on matters where mutual consent exists and if the request is made in accordance with international conventions. The South China Sea Arbitration case does not fall within this range. The Philippines' call for arbitration is neither based on international convention nor on mutual consent. I think any decision will be unilateral and will not be in the interest of maintaining good relations between China and the Philippines," Obradovic said.

Zarko pointed out that the South China Sea dispute originated from the illegal occupation in the 1970s of parts of China's Nansha Islands by the Philippines. He admired China's efforts to resolve the issue through negotiation. He said experience in the Balkans had shown that when two sides fail to settle disputes bilaterally, they evolve into permanent. and sometimes even armed, conflicts. He added that the Philippines is unwise to act on behalf of the United States in this case.

"I think that the United States should not have interfered in this because, by supporting the Philippines it directly demonstrated its interests that the verdict should be in favor of the Philippines," Obradovic said.

Djukanovic also said that Manila's unilateral initiation of arbitration on the South China Sea disputes with China is a "catastrophic mistake". 

"I think Manila will gain nothing in the end. This is a catastrophic mistake. The Philippines' call for arbitration is an undisguised disregard for good neighborhood relations. They should not let a third party intervene in the case. Losing good neighbor relations with China, will mean Manila will lose more that it will gain. Not willing to solve the dispute through bilateral talks a terrible mistake for the Philippines. They haven't noticed, but outsiders have seen that clearly," Djukanovic said

Djukanovic said the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by China and the Philippines, along with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2002, offers a good framework to bring disputes to a conclusion.