Update | China, Philippines to set up negotiation mechanism to resolve South China Sea disputes
Issues over contested waters to be resolved through ‘friendly consultations’ between the two states
China and the Philippines will launch a bilateral mechanism to discuss South China Sea disputes, an official joint statement said on Friday.
The two countries issued the statement after President Xi Jinping met his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing, and the two heads of state agreed to “fully recover” relations that had been damaged by their maritime dispute.
“Both sides agree to continue discussions on confidence-building measures ... and to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities in the South China Sea that would complicate or escalate disputes,” the statement said. It did not mention the international court ruling in July on the disputes, which had been the trigger of increased bilateral tensions.
Meanwhile, a US warship carried out a freedom-of-navigation operation on Friday near Triton and Woody islands in the Paracels, claimed by Beijing, Taipei and Hanoi, US officials told Reuters. It was the US navy’s fourth operation of its kind in the disputed waters since October last year.
The Philippines filed the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2013 to challenge the legality of China’s “nine-dash line” claim to most of the South China Sea. The tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines, a ruling China rejected.