Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reported clashes between Chinese and Philippine patrol vessels.

In the South China Sea, we are committed to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to freedom of navigation and overflight. We oppose any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation and take no sides in the sovereignty disputes. We encourage all parties to settle their disputes peacefully through the existing legal mechanisms, particularly UNCLOS. During the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to China, he raised the importance of sustained dialogue on issues of mutual concern, and the UK's interests in regional peace and stability.