The second meeting of China and the Philippines' Bilateral Consultation Mechanism has taken place in Manila. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou. CGTN's Barnaby Lo has more from the Philippine capital.

Chinese and Philippine foreign ministry officials met in Manila on Tuesday to discuss the South China Sea issue to try to settle differences if you will. The meeting was the second in the so-called bilateral consultation mechanism that was established after President Rodrigo Duterte's first visit to Beijing. The first one was held in China in May last year. Now while his predecessor's policy was to confront China and bring China to court, Duterte's has been to set aside differences and focus on trade and economic ties. But that doesn't mean, according to Duterte administration officials, that the government here isn't doing anything to address the issue. That has been the criticism here amidst recent controversies surrounding the territorial dispute. Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque says that in fact, regular talks between China and the Philippines specifically on the South China Sea territorial dispute are a testament to the government's resolve to address the issue. China has long favored bilateral negotiations as a means to settling disputes on the South China Sea, but in addition to that, China and ASEAN are now moving forward with talks on a code of conduct. Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Manila.