Philippines, China agree to manage conflicts in South China Sea

BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) -- China and the Philippines have agreed to improve maritime communication and to properly manage conflicts and differences through friendly talks in regard to issues around the South China Sea, their foreign ministries said in a statement.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong and Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro held a frank and in-depth exchange of views on the situation while co-chairing the eighth meeting of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in Shanghai, according to statements released by the Chinese and Philippine foreign ministries.

In the talks, the two sides reaffirmed that the South China Sea dispute is "not the whole story of bilateral relations," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement released late on Wednesday.

The two countries have had numerous confrontations recently in certain disputed waters in the South China Sea, with both trading accusations of provoking conflict in the economically strategic waterway, including charges that China rammed a ship last month carrying the Philippine armed forces' chief of staff.

China said its operation was "professional, reasonable and legal."

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Both officials believe "maintaining communication and dialogue is essential to maintaining maritime peace and stability," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In the Jan. 17 statement released by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, it said both sides "agreed to calmly deal with incidents, if any, through diplomacy."

The two sides agreed to