China, Philippines agree to keep talking to ease South China Sea tensions
- ‘Frank and constructive’ talks seek to manage differences through negotiations in the interests of peace and stability
According to a Chinese foreign ministry statement released late on Tuesday night, “the two sides believe that maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is in the interests of both China and the Philippines, and is also the common goal of regional countries”.
The two sides also “agreed to continue to maintain dialogue and consultation … to control disputes and differences”, according to the foreign ministry statement, which described the meeting as “frank and constructive”.
Issues covered in the talks included ways to improve the sea-related communication mechanism between the two countries and how to promote dialogue between their coastguards.
The Chinese side urged the Philippines to “immediately stop its infringing and provocative acts in the sea, … to get back on the right track of settling disputes through dialogue” so as to stabilise bilateral ties, the statement said.