India backs Phl in sea row

MANILA — India on Wednesday showed its support of the Philippines's pursuit for peaceful resolution of the maritime dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea.

In a joint statement issued in New Delhi, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the dispute should be settled without "threat or use of force, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law."

In their meeting, Del Rosario briefed Swaraj on the arbitration case against China being deliberated on at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, Netherlands.

"The two ministers reiterated the importance of safeguarding the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea," the joint statement read.

The two countries' top diplomats also called for the immediate conclusion of a binding Code of Conduct in the West Philippine Sea and the "full and effective" implementation of the 2002 declaration signed by the Philippines, China and other claimants.

The statement was made amid China's large-scale reclamation and construction of military outposts on contested reefs in the part of West Philippine Sea claimed by the Philippines.

The position of India, a rising military and economic powerhouse, implies diplomatic backing of the Philippines's decision to seek arbitration in hopes of settling the decades-old dustup over shoals, reefs and isles in the strategic waterway.

China, meanwhile, has refused to participate in the proceedings and insisted on bilateral negotiations.