South Korea and China have agreed to hold their third round of dialogue on maritime cooperation in South Korea next year.

According to the foreign ministry on Thursday, Kang Young-shin, the deputy director general for Northeast Asian Affairs and Yang Renhuo, deputy director-general of the boundary and oceans affairs department of China’s foreign ministry, reached the agreement in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The two officials concurred on the importance to bilateral relations that the countries respect each other’s maritime interests, observe international laws and stably manage order in the seas.

They also agreed to expand exchanges and cooperation in various areas, including the marine environment, science and technology, fishing and search and rescue operations.

Seoul and Beijing first launched the dialogue on marine cooperation in April 2021, with the two previous discussions covering China’s illegal fishing activities, maritime border demarcation in the Yellow Sea and cooperation on rescue efforts for marine accidents.