Manila, March 29 -- The Philippines and China have made "initial exchanges" on a potential oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, nearly four years since previous talks were terminated in 2022.

The subject was raised at the just concluded Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) on South China Sea meeting in Fujian, China, on March 28.

In a statement late Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said both sides took note of the progress made in other possible areas of cooperation to "increase confidence in the maritime domain," including coast guard-to-coast guard communication and ocean meteorology.

The two sides had "frank and thorough exchange of views" on the situation in the South China Sea, where Manila "firmly re...