China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong expressed hope the 23rd Philippines-China Foreign Ministry Consultations (FMC) on Thursday "will lay a favorable atmosphere" for the Friday's meeting where maritime related issues between the two states will be discussed.

"Tomorrow we will have the 7th meeting of the BCM (Bilateral Consultation Mechanism) and have in-depth communication on maritime related issues so we hope that today's consultation will lay a favourable atmosphere for tomorrow's discussion," Sun said during the opening session of the 23rd Philippines-China Foreign Ministry Consultations (FMC) and the 7th Bilateral Consultations Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea in Manila.

"In light of this fast changing international landscape China stands ready to work with countries in the neighborhood including the Philippines to enhance our solidarity and cooperation, communication, and coordination to deeply uphold our shared interest in peace and stability of the region," he added.

In her remarks, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said "it's almost four year since the last physical FMC."

"The Philippines attach much importance to this mechanism as our discussions here allow us to cover the overall relations between our two countries as compared to the bilateral consultation mechanism in South China Sea which fully covers the maritime issues," she said.

Lazaro also stressed that on many occasions President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that "we should be using the FMC more often."

"We look forward to utilizing these consultations to implement the consensus between our two leaders during the highly successful state visit last January of President Ferdinand Marcos where we signed 14 cooperation agreements and garnered almost $23 billion in business pledges," she said.

"Through this FMC we hope to translate the outcomes of the state visit into concrete and high impact engagements that are mutually beneficial for our two countries and peoples, I look forward to working with you Mr. Vice Minister to sustain the growth in our cooperation," she added. Robina Asido/DMS