MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Erwin Tulfo is set to meet today, February 23, with Chinese Ambassador to Manila Jing Quan to iron out differences between some senators and embassy officials. The talks will be held in a hotel amid the recent word war between Senators Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, and Erwin Tulfo and embassy spokesmen Ji Lingpeng and Guo Wei over the West Philippine Sea. Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Sunday said the Senate was "not surrendering anything — much less bowing to anyone — in any potential talks with the Chinese embassy." Lacson said that the prospective talks, which he suggested after Jing expressed willingness to talk with Philippine leaders to ease the word war on the issue, will focus not on contentious issues such as ownership of the disputed areas, but on establishing clear lines of communication between the two sides. Lacson lauded Tulfo for his own initiative to meet with embassy officials as the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate president pro tempore said it was "a move in the right direction" and "commendable." He said Tulfo may report to the all-senators' caucus the result of his 11 a.m. meeting Monday afternoon.