Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay speaks during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) in Moscow, Russia, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
MANILA (Reuters) - The foreign minister of the Philippines expressed doubt on Wednesday that a maritime sovereignty dispute with China could be resolved "during our lifetime", so it was better to set it aside, engage Beijing and avoid an armed confrontation.
In a defence of President Rodrigo Duterte's decision not to push China to abide by an international arbitration ruling that went in Manila's favour last year, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said there was an impasse that neither side could break, so it was better to maximise benefits from Beijing instead.
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