Philippine Foreign Affairs officials are currently making arrangements with their Chinese counterparts to pave the way for the formal start of Sino-Philippine talks on the South China Sea dispute.

The Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay on Friday said that Manila has been in touch with Chinese diplomatic officials to lay the groundwork for the upcoming talks without any pre-conditions.

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"The important thing is that we talk," Yasay told reporters at a meeting in the Philippine Embassy in Washington.

July 12 ruling

Despite China's earlier announcement that it will not accept any actions or future talks with any state within the framework of the July 12 arbitral ruling, Manila said it would continue to work on bilateral talks with Beijing and would push for the ruling as the basis of discussions.

Beijing has said it would only talk to Manila sans the July 12 arbitral ruling which rejected China's claims of ownership over territories in the disputed South China Sea.

The ruling upheld the Philippines' rights over several contested reefs and islands in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.

Bilateral Talks

"Our position has been we will not engage them in talks outside the framework of the tribunal ruling. We are now engaged in the process of making sure these bilateral talks will happen," Yasay said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte recently ordered top defense officials to end Manila's joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea saying he does not want the country to be involved in a "hostile act" against China. He has highlighted on the Asian giant's large stockpile of weaponry compared to Manila's much smaller military arsenal.

Duterte said that war with China is not an option to resolve the simmering maritime dispute. He noted that Beijing could interpret the joint patrols in the disputed sea as a provocative act, and this might jeopardize plans for Sino-Philippine bilateral talks.

TagsSouth China Sea, Sino-US formal talks, July 12 ruling, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Philippines, china, Sino-Philippine formal talks