After months of simmering tensions between China and the Philippines over conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea, Manila and Beijing have engaged in a series of “candid” discussions on how to manage the disputes. The talks ramped up after a Chinese ship rammed a Philippine coast guard vessel off a contested shoal in August, and come amid a concerted diplomatic, military, and rhetorical push on the part of Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., to counter Chinese