China has warned the Philippines to "act with caution" following a series of encounters between the two nations' ships in the West Philippine Sea.

The stern warning was delivered by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to his Philippine counterpart Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo when the two top diplomats held a phone call on Wednesday.

Wang noted that the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China "now stands at a crossroads, with its future yet to be decided."

"Instead of continuing in the wrong direction, the Philippine side should return to the right path as soon as possible, with properly handling and managing the current maritime situation as a top priority," he said.

Wang reiterated that as neighbors, China and the Philippines should "settle disputes through consultation," noting that this is "not only an effective way for neighbors to get along with each other but also a useful experience for China-Philippines relations to improve."

"China is always committed to resolving differences through dialogue and consultation to jointly maintain maritime stability," he said.

In case the Philippines "misjudges the situation, goes its own way, or even colludes with ill-intentioned external forces to continue to stir up troubles," Wang said China will "defend its rights in accordance with law and respond resolutely."

China's top diplomat pointed out that the "severe difficulties" facing China-Philippines relations now are "rooted in the fact that the Philippine side has changed its policy stance so far, reneged on the promises it has made, constantly provoked troubles at sea, and undermined China's legitimate and lawful rights."

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, which is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected Beijing's historical claims in the West Philippine Sea and favored Manila's sovereign rights in the area.

Despite this, the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea remains on paper as China has continued to reject the ruling and assert its claim in the area.

'Clearer understanding'

For his part, Manalo said he had a "frank and candid exchange" with Wang.

"We had a frank and candid exchange and ended our call with a clearer understanding of our respective positions on a number of issues," he said in a separate statement.

"We both noted the importance of dialogue in addressing these issues," he added.

Earlier this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that Manila's diplomatic efforts with Beijing were headed "in a poor direction," highlighting the need for a "paradigm shift" in addressing China's continuous aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

For two consecutive days on the first weekend of December, China used water cannon on Philippine vessels that were en route to a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal and Scarborough Shoal.

Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the country has lodged a total of 65 diplomatic protests against China's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.