China and the Philippines said Wednesday they will cautiously proceed with discussions on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, further reversing years of tensions over their competing claims to the region.The two states have long been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the waterway – with China claiming nearly the entire sea – but Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has in recent years softened his predecessors’ policy of opposing Beijing’s claims. The countries will “in a prudent and steady way advance cooperation on offshore oil and gas exploration,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told reporters after meeting Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.

China, PH, agree to 'prudent' cooperation on joint sea exploration. (2018, March 23). The Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.