China must recognise South China Sea ruling: Philippines

China will be the "loser" if it does not recognise an international court ruling against Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea (SCS), Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Tuesday.

"We are trying to make China understand especially when the dust settles that unless they respect and recognise the arbitral tribunal, they will be the losers at the end of that day on this matter," Yasay told a congressional hearing.

An arbitration court in The Hague infuriated China in July when it ruled that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions there.

China and a grouping of Southeast Asian nations aim to finish by the middle of 2017 a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in the disputed South China Sea (SCS).

Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the busy waterway.