US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses students at Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday (AP photo)

NEW DELHI — US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Wednesday on China and the Philippines to abide by an international tribunal’s decision on the disputed South China Sea and said there was no military solution to the problem. "There clearly is a domestic political need in China to demonstrate strength on territorial issues, especially after the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in July, and this applies equally to Japan in the East China Sea as well as to the South China Sea," he said. “The United States continues to call on China and the Philippines to abide by the tribunal’s recent decision which is final and legally binding on both parties,” Kerry told a gathering of students in New Delhi. China’s activities in the sea have also drawn criticism from the United States, which says it seeks to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which $5 trillion in annual global trade passes. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on parts of the sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.
The Philippines says it won't have bilateral talks with China until the Chinese stop all provocations in the South China Sea.