Philippines and China to use diplomacy to address maritime issues

Theresa Lazaro (left) Philippines' Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and Asian Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs, shake hands with Sun Weidong, China's Vice Foreign Minister, prior to the start of the Philippines-China Foreign Ministry consultation meeting at a hotel in Manila on Thursday, March 23, 2023. - AP

MANILA, March 25 (Reuters): Maritime issues between the Philippines and China remain a "serious concern", a Philippine official said on Friday night, as the countries pledged to use diplomacy to resolve differences peacefully during high-level talks.

The Philippines hosted this week the first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the pandemic, amid a flare-up in tensions over what Manila described as China's "aggressive activities" in the South China Sea.