By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-16 13:41:45 | Updated at 2025-01-16 17:35:35
3 hours ago
Beijing and Manila have agreed to continue talks on settling their territorial differences despite Philippine protests about the presence of a Chinese “monster ship” near the contested Scarborough Shoal.
The Chinese side said both sides had “agreed to strengthen dialogue and contact on maritime issues and properly handle maritime disputes” following a meeting between Chen Xiaodong, the vice-minister for foreign affairs, and his Philippine counterpart Maria Theresa Lazaro in the Chinese city of Xiamen on Thursday.
The two sides pledged to boost cooperation in areas such as maritime security and science and technology, but China also criticised Manila’s “provocative activities” and attempts to “hype up disputes” in the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Lazaro expressed “serious concern” about the presence of Chinese coastguard vessels in the Philippine exclusive economic zone but expressed a willingness to seek common ground, according to Bloomberg.
The talks were held under a mechanism to discuss their territorial disputes and attended by military and coastguard representatives and were the first of their kind since July.
They follow a series of clashes between the two countries’ coastguards over the past year around disputed South China Sea features.
