Tensions in region eased since relations with Philippines were repaired last year

The concern about "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea is "much ado about nothing", a spokesman for the annual session of the top political advisory body said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

"There is an old Chinese saying that 'There's no trouble in the world, except for what the unenlightened agitate'," said Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, when asked about how China can ensure navigational freedom in the South China Sea.