Latest South China Sea News
Southeast Asian defense chiefs discuss regional security with US, China and other partner nations
VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian defense chiefs met Thursday with their counterparts from China, the United States and other nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more...
US defense chief regrets China's decision not to meet during Southeast Asian security talks
VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed regret Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region. The Association of Southeast...
US defense chief says alliance with Philippines will transcend administrations
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday condemned China's dangerous actions against the Philippines and renewed a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the increasingly volatile waters. ...
Malaysia protests new Philippine maritime laws that it says infringe on its territory
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has protested new maritime laws in the Philippines that it says encroach on its territory, a government official said Friday. Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin said Malaysia sent a protest note on Thursday over the Philippine laws....
Chinese and Philippine forces again avoid a clash in a fiercely disputed shoal under a rare deal
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine navy transported food and other supplies to a territorial ship outpost in a shoal in the South China Sea without any confrontation with Chinese forces guarding the disputed area, officials said Friday. The Philippine delivery of supplies...
China holds combat drills at a disputed shoal west of the Philippines
BEIJING (AP) — China held sea and air combat drills Wednesday at disputed Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited area of reefs and rocks it had seized from the Philippines in the South China Sea. China on Sunday published new baselines for the shoal including geographic coordinates. A...
Philippine defense secretary doesn't expect Trump will demand payment for protection
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said Tuesday that he didn't expect President-elect Donald Trump’s next administration would demand that the Philippines pay more for military protection because both allies faced the shared threat of China. ...
Typhoon batters storm-weary Philippines and displaces thousands more people as a new storm threatens
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Toraji unleashed floods, knocked down trees and caused power outages in the northern Philippines before weakening into a tropical storm and blowing out to the South China Sea, officials said Tuesday as they braced for another approaching storm. ...
China delimits a contested South China Sea shoal in a dispute with Philippines
BEIJING (AP) — China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that's likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday posted online geographic coordinates for the...
Philippine president angers China with new laws to demarcate South China Sea territories
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, angering China, which claims the hotly disputed waterway almost in its entirety....
