US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday warned China against attempts to resolve the South China Sea dispute through "unilateral actions" while Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries must properly manage their differences avoiding "major disturbance" in ties.
"The US will make it clear that we are looking for a peaceful resolution to the dispute - the disputes of the South China Sea (SCS)," Kerry said speaking here at the opening ceremony of the two-day strategic and economic dialogue between the world's two biggest economies.
"We are not a claimant. We have taken no position on any of the claims of any claimant. The only position we've taken is let's not resolve this by unilateral action; let's resolve this through rule of law, through diplomacy, through negotiation," he said.
He urged all nations to find a diplomatic solution, rooted in international standards and rule of law, countering Chinese criticism of US interferences in the SCS dispute. The SCS dispute has become flash point between the two countries as the US backed the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan to counter China's claims of almost all the SCS.