The Philippines and China must handle their differences over the South China Sea "directly", and not with the interference of others, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said Friday. Huang's pronouncement came after China criticized the military alliance between the Philippines and the United States, which was fortified amid China's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. Acknowledging that "indeed, there are differences between China and the Philippines on the South China Sea issue," Huang rather noted that the two countries have maintained peaceful coexistence "for over a thousand years and will continue to be so in the future." While the two countries have "respective claims and positions regarding the South China Sea," he asserted that "differences thereof should be resolved by parties directly involved through dialogues and with mutual respect." "That is why China is committed to strengthening dialogue mechanisms between us," he added, even citing as example the recent seventh meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in March in Manila. Huang underscored that provocative actions or bringing in external forces "will not help but further complicate the situation and cause more problems" and it will only put "regional peace and security at risk." "We should learn from history and avoid repeating mistakes," he added.