China and ASEAN steered their joint statement on Monday away from an arbitration case initiated by the Philippines, reaffirming their support for South China Sea disputes being resolved by the parties directly involved.

Observers said the South China Sea situation is now on the right track after three years of chaos, which followed Manila's unilateral initiation of the case that led to the recent ruling by the Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague.

The joint statement was issued after the meeting in the Laotian capital between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterparts from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.