China's calls for South China Sea talks face challenges

BEIJING (AP) — Amid China's outrage over an international tribunal that rejected its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the country is using new language that some experts say shows Beijing wants to be more flexible.

Buried in the outpouring of statements and diplomats' diatribes, however, is a new stance on cooperating with the Philippines and other claimants in jointly developing the waters' rich fishing stocks and potential wealth of other natural resources.

"China is ready to discuss with countries concerned about provisional arrangements pending final settlement of the dispute," the country's top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, said last week.

Other official statements have also said China is willing to enter into "provisional arrangements of a practical nature," phrasing that echoes language used in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.

"Beijing's intimations that it is prepared to open the door to (provisional arrangements) is promising," said Dr. Lynn Kuok, non-resident fellow at Brookings Institution, who was among several scholars who have argued that China should adopt such arrangements.

Southeast Asian nations involved in disputes with China have said they think Beijing's calls for negotiations are mere stalling tactics as China continues to build airstrips and other infrastructure in the South China Sea, effectively expanding its control over the vast waters.