China urged the Philippines to stop multilateralizing the South China Sea
dispute and return to bilateral consultations after Beijing exercised its right
of reply on Sept. 28 during the 81st UN General Assembly general debate. Deputy
Permanent Representative Sun Lei said the UN is not an appropriate forum for the
issue but Beijing deemed it necessary to rebut Manila’s remarks. China
reiterated its long‑standing position that the “so‑called South China Sea
arbitration” was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines and contravenes core
international‑law principles such as state consent and pacta sunt servanda,
including UNCLOS. China called on the Philippines to resume bilateral talks and
jointly manage differences to maintain peace and stability in the South China
Sea.
