BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese scholar on Thursday urged the Philippines to engage in bilateral talks with China to resolve their South China Sea dispute as its incoming administration expressed willingness to bring the maritime issues back to the negotiating table.

The attitude of the Philippines' new administration over the handling of the South China Sea dispute could serve as a start for seeking a bilateral solution to relevant issues, Zhou Yongsheng, professor with China Foreign Affairs University, told Xinhua in an interview.

On Tuesday, Perfecto Yasay, the Philippines' incoming foreign minister, stressed the new administration's willingness to pursue bilateral talks with China to resolve their dispute in the South China Sea.

On a separate occasion, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was on a visit to Canada, expressed China's welcome if Manila sincerely wants to come back to the track of dialogue and negotiations.

The positive signals sent by the two sides could be used to help bring the South China Sea dispute back to the negotiating table, said Zhou.

He urged Manila to withdraw its unilaterally-initiated arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding the South China Sea row.

Neither does the tribunal have the right to hear the case nor exercise jurisdiction, said the expert on Asia affairs. He illustrated his view by citing a declaration China made in 2006, which excludes a compulsory arbitration under the Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The invalid arbitration case, which was brought up by outgoing President Benigno Aquino in 2013, has stirred up tensions in the South China Sea, in the Philippines' bid to cooperate with Washington's Asia-rebalancing strategy.

Aimed at building closer ties with the United States and Japan, Aquino's "tricks" by seeking arbitration over the maritime dispute have not helped solve the South China Sea row, but added risks to regional peace and security, Zhou said.

In contrast to the Aquino administration's reluctance to engage in dialogue with Beijing, the Philippines' incoming president Rodrigo Duterte has said on several occasions that he wanted to cultivate friendly relations with China, and confirmed that he was open to direct talks over the row in the South China Sea.

Duterte's policies are more open and pragmatic than those of his predecessor, Zhou said. "Such kind of policies should be welcome," the scholar said.

As dialogue and negotiations are conducive to breaking the deadlock in Manila-Beijing relations, the professor suggested that the two sides step up engagement so as to resolve their dispute through dialogue as soon as possible.