Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro said she and Wang had “a frank and constructive” discussion on the direction of their bilateral relationship in the call Tuesday night. “Both sides emphasized the need for continued diplomatic dialogue and the proper management of differences anchored on mutual respect,” Lazaro said in a post on X without elaborating.
China and the Philippines have overlapping claims to the South China Sea, which have escalated into physical clashes between sailors and collisions between navy vessels in recent years. The tensions over their territorial claims have surfaced in their diplomatic exchanges lately.