Goldberg said the United States and the Philippines both have deep interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and he is not discarding the possibility of joint patrols in the area.
Two U.S. warships have sailed by China-claimed islands in the Spratly and Paracel island chains since October.
Foreign affairs secretary Albert Del Rosario said last week the officials discussing possible joint patrols were looking at an area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Tensions have raised in the last two years after china built islands on disputed reefs in the Spratly islands chain that China’s neighbors fear could be used to threaten their territories.
China and Taiwan have nearly identical claims to almost the entire South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei say parts of the sea belong to them.
The United States does not claim part of the territory but says it has interest in the peaceful settlement of the disputes and in freedom of navigation in waters that are critical for world trade. (Eagle News Service)