South China Sea: Philippines, China hold ‘friendly and candid’ talks on maritime disputes

The two sides also discussed the row over the 2019 sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese vessel that abandoned the Filipino crew in the sea

The talks come days after the Philippine Foreign Secretary Locsin likened China to ‘an ugly oaf’ for its behaviour in the waterway

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Chinese vessels moored at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea. File photo: PCG via EPA-EFE

Published: 5:02pm, 22 May 2021Updated: 5:02pm, 22 May 2021

Manila and Beijing held “friendly and candid” talks on the South China Sea, the Philippines’ foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The presence of hundreds of Chinese vessels inside the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has been the latest source of tensions between the two countries in the South China Sea, through which US$3 trillion worth of goods pass every year.

The Philippines said the encroaching vessels were manned by militia, while China said they were fishing boats sheltering from bad weather.

“The two sides had friendly and candid exchanges on the general situation and specific issues of concern in the South China Sea,” under a bilateral consultation mechanism convened in 2016 to ease tensions in the strategic waterway, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

“There was mutual recognition of the importance of dialogue in easing tensions and understanding each country’s position and intentions in the area,” the DFA said.

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