Relations Between China, Philippines Seen Smoothing After Upbeat Talks

TAIPEI - Upbeat talks this month between China and the Philippines after a maritime flare-up should improve a relationship that is considered pivotal to the broader, stickier South China Sea sovereignty dispute, analysts believe.

On May 21, the two nations held their sixth Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea, a waterway over which both dispute sovereignty. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, created the process in 2016 to manage differences. Officials in Manila loudly protested in March and April the mooring of 220 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef, a contested feature in the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands. “The two sides had friendly and candid exchanges on the general situation and specific issues of concern in the South China Sea,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said on its website after the May 21 talks. “Both sides acknowledged the importance of addressing differences in an atmosphere of openness and cordiality to pave the way for practical cooperation and initiatives.”