Sino-US talks ease maritime concerns

BEIJING - Beijing and Washington held two days of maritime security talks late last week in Hawaii in what analysts said was the latest sign of an ongoing thaw in military relations over the past eight months.

The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on Sunday that the two sides held annual consultations in Honolulu on Friday and Saturday under their Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) mechanism, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two sides exchanged opinions on their maritime security situation since this year and solutions to maritime security concerns in a "substantial" and "candid" manner, it said.