Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 18) – Foreign affairs officials from the Philippines and China have discussed ways to improve the communication between the two nations to handle the conflict in South China Sea.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong co-chaired the eighth meeting of the China-Philippines bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea issue in Shanghai, China on Wednesday.

The DFA on Thursday said the two sides had frank discussions on how to de-escalate the rising tension in the West Philippine Sea, with both nations assuring each other of their mutual commitment to “calmly deal” with incidents.

It said Manila and Beijing agreed to work on the maritime communication mechanism, including the ease of communications between foreign ministries and coast guards of the two countries.

In August 2023, the Philippine Coast Guard admitted that its “hotline” to its Chinese counterpart was no longer in use since the Philippines gained nothing from it.

The DFA also said both countries decided to initiate talks on possible academic exchanges on marine scientific research between Filipino and Chinese scientists, but did not provide further details.