"On the issue of territory and disputes over maritime delineation, China does not accept any dispute resolution from a third party and does not accept any dispute resolution forced on China."

China’s ambassador to the Philippines has suggested that the two countries sit down for talks on the most squeamish territorial dispute in Asia. The question of who controls the fishery-rich, 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea, also full of oil and natural gas as well as major world shipping lanes, could proceed from military preparations to a calm negotiating room. The two governments – both unusually aggressive in asserting rival claims to the sea — might be able to work something out. The Philippines is talking now to Taiwan to agree on law enforcement in their own overlapping waters.

The chairman of a Philippine energy company said Friday a Chinese state-owned oil producer hasn't responded to a revived proposal to jointly explore a disputed area of the South China Sea but drilling will go ahead by 2016 with or without a partnership.

Natural gas serves a small, but growing, portion of China’s total energy demand

China says South China Sea tension exaggerated

Pentagon plans new tactics to deter China in South China Sea.

Philippines offers oil, gas exploration area in waters disputed with China