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China has been in the middle of a dispute over a set of islands and recently lost a key arbitration in the Hague Tribunal.

John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, according to Reuters. But on Monday, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) deleted a reference to the recent international arbitration ruling from a statement, which is seen as a diplomatic victory of China.