Beijing and Manila promise further South China Sea talks despite row over ‘monster ship’

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.

China 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, the first of their kind since July, were held under a mechanism to discuss their territorial disputes and were attended by military and coastguard representatives.

They follow a series of clashes between the two countries’ coastguards over the past year around disputed South China Sea features.