A Philippine supply boat sails near a Chinese Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea, October 4, 2023. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States and China held "candid" talks on maritime issues on Friday, including on the contested South China Sea, and the U.S. side underscored its concerns about "dangerous and unlawful" Chinese actions there, the U.S. State Department said. It described the talks as "substantive, constructive, and candid" and said they covered a range of maritime issues, including the South China Sea and East China Sea, which are contested by China and other nations. "The United States underscored concerns with the PRC's dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea," it said, referring to the People's Republic of China. A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Mallory Stewart would host Sun Xiaobo, head of the arms-control department at China's Foreign Ministry, at the State Department next week.

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Persons: Adrian Portugal, Mark Lambert, Ocean Affairs Hong Liang, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Mallory Stewart, Sun Xiaobo, Biden, Xi, David Brunnstrom, Sandra Maler, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, U.S . State Department, Ocean Affairs Hong, State Department, APEC, U.S ., U.S, Arms, Sun, China's Foreign Ministry, Biden, Thomson Locations: Philippine, South China, United States, China, U.S, Beijing, Boundary, San Francisco, The U.S, South, East China, People's Republic of China, Washington