China, Philippines hold ninth meeting on South China Sea under bilateral mechanism

China and the Philippines held the 9th Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea in the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday, with the two sides agreeing to continue the dialogue and consultation through mechanisms such as the BCM to manage differences.

The meeting was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong and Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Maria Theresa Lazaro.

The two sides had candid and constructive exchanges of views, focusing on managing the situation on the Ren'ai Jiao.

China reiterated its sovereignty over the Nansha Qundao (or Nansha Islands), including Rei'ai Jiao, and its adjacent waters, highlighting its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant maritime areas.

It urged the Philippines to immediately stop infringing and provocative acts at sea, earnestly abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, return to the right track of properly handling differences through dialogue and consultation, and work with China to properly manage the situation on Ren'ai Jiao so as to de-escalate the maritime situation and stabilize China-Philippines relations from deterioration.

Both sides agreed that maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is in the interests of China and the Philippines as well as the common goal of countries in the region.

They also exchanged views on improving the maritime communication mechanism, promoting dialogue between coastguards and promoting cooperation in marine science, technology and environmental protection.

Representatives from the departments of foreign affairs, national defense, natural resources and coast guards of the two countries attended the meeting.

China, Philippines hold ninth meeting on South China Sea under bilateral mechanism

China, Philippines hold ninth meeting on South China Sea under bilateral mechanism

The Labour Party of the United Kingdom is on track to achieve a landslide win in the general election, according to an exit poll published after voting ended on Thursday night.

The exit poll showed Labour, headed by Keir Starmer, would win 410 seats, enough for a comfortable outright majority in the 650-seat parliament. Rishi Sunak's Conservatives that have ruled for 14 years are forecast to win 131 seats, Liberal Democrats 61 seats, and Reform UK 13 seats.

The exit poll, commissioned by three broadcasters -- the BBC, ITV, and Sky -- has a good track record of accurately forecasting the outcome of the last four elections held in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Official results will be declared in the early hours of Friday.

British Prime Minister Sunak is set to resign on Friday morning as his Conservatives will probably endure its worst ever election result.

Sunak announced in May that the country will hold a general election on July 4, the first time that the country has held a general election in July since 1945.

The prime minister's announcement came just hours after new figures showed that inflation in the country has fallen sharply to 2.3 percent, its lowest level in nearly three years. The ruling Conservative Party considers this a heartening achievement.

UK Labour Party set to win massive parliamentary majority: exit poll