Russia has taken a position in the South China Sea dispute that tacitly calls on China to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) China signed but later said it will repudiate following an international tribunal's ruling against it last July 12.

Russia's Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov said Russia is "interested in the fact that all the problems in that region should be addressed via political and diplomatic means, through negotiations between the countries that are involved in these disputes."

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"We believe that the only normal way out of this situation is the negotiation at the level of international law. In particularly at the UN Convention of 1982 on the Law of the Sea and documents that have been developed between ASEAN countries and China," Vnukov said in June according to Sputniknews.

China ratified UNCLOS in August 2006. It said, however, it will exit UNCLOS in the wake of the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague declaring illegal China's "nine-dash line" and with it China's claim to own the South China Sea. The court also found China had infringed on the Philippines' territorial rights.

Vnukov also said Russia opposes internationalizing the dispute and the involvement of parties with no direct relation to it, an indirect reference to the United States that supports the Philippines, and which is engaged in a war of nerves with China.

He also said Russia is categorically opposed to any escalation of tensions and increased militarization in the South China Sea.

"As was recently noted by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, we oppose the internationalization of the dispute and the involvement in it of those parties who have no direct relation to it," he said.

"We call for retaining calmness, restraint and not to turn the region into a hot spot as there are so many in the world. We call on everyone without exception, to China and the ASEAN countries."

Vnukov said "there should be no suspicion that it (Russia) is inclined to one side or another. Russia has a completely independent position."

Russia, however, has a strategic interest in the region because of its close business and military ties to Vietnam, which with the Philippines are China's two main foes in the South China Sea dispute.

TagsRussia, china, South China Sea, Konstantin Vnukov, unclos, Philippines