Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on building on disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), raised the South China Sea with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi during the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in London on 20 December. He noted the importance of abiding by international law in the South China Sea and refraining from activities which could raise tensions. As the Foreign Secretary has since stressed in a speech on 18 January, we oppose the militarisation of the South China Sea and we urge all parties to respect freedom of navigation and settle their disputes peacefully in accordance with international law. We regard last year's ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as binding on both China and the Philippines.