Chinese and Philippine officials have settled on pursuing closer dialogue to deal with "maritime emergencies" in the South China Sea, including the hotly contested Second Thomas Shoal, Beijing stated.

Following a series of incidents involving vessels from both countries, the two countries' relations have been facing a sharp decline, noting that they have a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the waterway.

The Second Thomas Shoal, or Ren'ai Shoal according to Beijing, has a grounded naval vessel stationed by Manila to "assert" its territorial claims. This resulted in very intense confrontations between both countries.   

On Wednesday, they held their 8th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in Shanghai after weeks of tensions. 

China still claims the territory almost in its entirety and stated that the two countries held a "candid and in-depth exchange of views" on the situation in the South China Sea.

China's Foreign Ministry emphasized that both sides agreed "that maintaining communication and dialogue is essential to maintaining maritime peace and stability," adding that both countries will improve their "maritime communication mechanism" in an attempt to handle maritime emergencies more efficiently especially "the situation on the Ren'ai Shoal." 

In parallel, Manila stated that the two countries "agreed that continuous dialogue is important to keep peace and stability at sea" and "assured each other of their mutual commitment to avoid escalation of tensions."

"The two sides had frank and productive discussions to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and both sides agreed to calmly deal with incidents, if any, through diplomacy," the Philippines Foreign Ministry added.

After a month of tense standoffs between China and the Philippines in disputed reefs in the area that saw a collision between vessels from both countries, China held military drills in the South China Sea as the United States and the Philippines did a joint exercise in the same waters this month. 

China has always called for settling it peacefully

On January 3, China announced the initiation of "routine" military patrols in the South China Sea, responding to the conflicts among nations in the contested region. The Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army confirmed the organization of naval and air forces for these patrols scheduled from January 3 to 4.

The official statement did not disclose details about the specific locations of the patrols and their objectives.

The South China Sea dispute has been ongoing for several years, with multiple countries, namely China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, all fighting for sovereignty in the maritime region.

Sixty percent of maritime trade passes through Asia, with the South China Sea carrying an estimated one-third of global shipping. Most recently, US and Western-affiliated naval ships have been crossing the area as part of the ongoing provocations against China. 

Beijing had always wanted to formally settle the dispute with the countries involved, but some countries sought to resort to third parties to do so. For instance, in early 2013, the Philippines initiated the South China Sea arbitration against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague - a Western-affiliated organ of the UN.

In recent months, since the West began to further stir up geopolitical tension in the region, China has begun to adopt a more defensive stance by building artificial islands and deploying coast guard and maritime patrols.