China backs dialogue with ASEAN on sea row

SINGAPORE: China urged Southeast Asian nations on Thursday to resolve territorial disputes through dialogue and repeated a warning of “negative consequences” if the Philippines wins an arbitration case in The Hague.

Four ASEAN member states -- the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei -- have rival claims with China to parts of the South China Sea, and tensions have mounted in recent years since China transformed contested reefs into artificial islands that can support military facilities.