Southeast Asian foreign ministers are gathering for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc’s new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Philippines protests presence of ‘monster ship’ amid fears of status quo shift in South China Sea - Manila says Chinese vessels detected near disputed Scarborough shoal

Philippines National Security Council spokesperson said Manila was surprised by China’s ‘increasing aggression’.

MANILA : The Philippines said China’s deployment of its largest coast guard vessel inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) was alarming and clearly meant to intimidate fishermen operating around a contested shoal in the South China Sea.

Any wrongdoing or provocative action by China will face an appropriate response from the Philippine government, says official - Anadolu Ajansı

The Philippines accused China on Tuesday of intimidating its fishermen at a disputed South China Sea shoal, and normalising an "illegal presence", after Beijing sent its largest coast guard vessel into Manila's maritime zone.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the sea. They are concerned China’s expansive claim encroaches into their exclusive economic zones (EEZ), non ...

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent months concerning the South China Sea, a region spanning 3.5 million square kilometers (1.35 million square miles) through which an estimated $11.3 billion in global trade passes annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The contract, signed in 2022, stated that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) would take delivery of 32 aircraft from Lockheed Martin’s subsidiary PZL Mielec. It would expand the PAF’s existing fleet of 15 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to 47, boosting its operational capacity.

West Philippine Sea and South China Sea are not the same. West Philippine Sea refers to waters inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which, by international law, are waters up to 200 kilometers beyond the country’s continental shelf.

The Philippine navy said on Friday its ships were holding drills near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, a day after Manila and Beijing agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite ongoing disputes.