Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Monday he agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama that territorial disputes should be settled peacefully, after bilateral talks at the presidential palace in Manila.
The Philippines has sought international arbitration over China's "nine-dash-line" claims to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, an important shipping route that is believed to be rich in energy resources.
Apart from the Philippines, Beijing's territorial claims overlap with that of Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
"Both President Obama and I share the conviction that territorial and maritime disputes in the Asia Pacific region should be settled peacefully based on international law," Aquino said at a joint news conference.
"We affirm that arbitration is an open, friendly and peaceful approach to seeking a just and durable solution."
In turn, Obama said the United States was not planning to rebuild old bases or construct new ones under a new security accord signed on Monday with the Philippines, part of a "pivot" of U.S. resources towards fast-growing Asia and the Pacific.
The agreement, which will have an initial 10-year term, sets the framework for a beefed-up rotation of U.S. troops, ships and warplanes through the Philippines.
China interprets the move as aimed at containing Beijing's growing military might.
On another note, President Barack Obama said the United States will impose additional sanctions on Russia targeting individuals and companies over the crisis in
Ukraine, a move expected to be followed by separate sanctions from the European Union.
Washington said at the weekend the new sanctions would target individuals and companies close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as new restrictions on high-tech exports to Russia's defense industry.
Obama, speaking in Manila during the final stop of a four-nation Asian tour, said the United States and its allies were also considering a next phase of further sanctions targeting sectors of the economy such as banking and defense.
The United States accuses Russia of not living up to an agreement to defuse tensions in eastern Ukraine, where armed pro-Russian separatists seized about a dozen government buildings.
REUTERS