In an interview with China Daily prior to the Tribunal on the South China Sea issuing its final decision today, Peter van Tuijl, executive director of The Hague-based Secretariat of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Foundation, urged both sides to resort to peaceful talks to solve the dispute, as the verdict of the tribunal, as China says, is invalid.

He also said that civil society in China and Southeast Asia will play a bigger role in boosting mutual understanding, which can help the dispute settlement at the governmental level.