Ankara: China's top diplomat Wang Yi criticized the Philippines on Tuesday for "provocations" following a clash between Filipino seafarers and the Chinese Coast Guard at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, state media reported. During a meeting with Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila, Wang stated that "some forces within the Philippine military and police have deliberately engaged in provocations and created incidents at sea," the China Daily reported.

According to Anadolu Agency, Wang is in Manila to attend the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Wednesday. He emphasized that the South China Sea is the common homeland of countries in the region and "should not become an obstacle to China-ASEAN relations." Beijing, he added, is willing to work with ASEAN to eliminate disruptive factors and accelerate consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

China is prepared to collaborate on a new narrative of peace, stability, cooperation, and friendship in the South China Sea, and Wang asserted that they would "firmly" maintain the initiative on South China Sea issues in their own hands. Kao expressed that ASEAN is eager to cooperate with China to preserve the region's peace and stability and contribute to the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.

ASEAN backs the "dual-track" approach and the acceleration of consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, striving to make the area a domain of peace, cooperation, and friendship. The maritime tensions between China and the Philippines revolve around overlapping sovereignty and maritime claims in the South China Sea, primarily focused on the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.