South China Sea

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Philippine's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro talks to the media as he attends the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore on May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

War of words between China and Philippines over South China Sea claims

By David Rising - Associated Press

This Vantor satellite image of Yagong Reef taken Aug. 18 shows what analysts say is the development of a Chinese early warning radar that could support PLA military operations on Antelope Reef, located about nine miles away. (Credit: Satellite image ©2026 Vantor.)

State blasts China for building new military base on disputed reef

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) conducts routine underway operations in the Philippine Sea on June 24, 2022. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Arthur Rosen/U.S. Navy via AP) **FILE**

Navy destroyer stuck in South China Sea for 4 days without power

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough Shoal on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan) **FILE**

State Department condemns new Chinese claim to disputed South China Sea shoal as ‘destabilizing’

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander, Admiral Samuel Paparo, gestures during a press conference at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio, northern Philippines, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Top U.S. admiral warns against coercion, says no nation will dominate Indo-Pacific

Associated Press

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his 5th State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives on Monday July 27, 2026 in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Philippine President Marcos slams China in veiled rebuke in his state of the nation speech

By Jim Gomez - Associated Press

In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, warships of South Korea, the United States and Japan including the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, bottom center, take part in the trilateral Freedom Edge exercise in international waters off South Korea's southern island of Jeju on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP) **FILE**

Navy carrier strike group patrolling tension-filled South China Sea

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, right, fires its water cannon at the Philippines' BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, locally called Pag-asa Island, at the South China Sea on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) **FILE**

China illegally ignores South China Sea court ruling for 10 years, U.S. Pacific Command says

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

In this image made from video provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a Chinese coast guard ship uses water cannon on a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah May 4 as it approaches Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin shoal, at the disputed South China Sea on March 23, 2024. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP, File)

U.S. joins Western, Asian allies in reasserting illegality of Beijing’s South China Sea claims

By Jim Gomez - Associated Press

Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as Type 99A2 Chinese battle tanks take part in a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Xi Jinping urges Chinese Communist Party to speed up military buildup

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough Shoal on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan) **FILE**

Tensions rise at disputed South China Sea shoal

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

Chinese President Xi Jinping looks on during a signing ceremony with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

Intel agencies set to show Xi Jinping’s hidden wealth

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, center left, with his wife Elke Budenbender, left, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with his wife Liza Araneta Marcos pose for pictures in Manila, Philippines Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

German president says Europe is worried over tensions in the disputed South China Sea

By Jim Gomez - Associated Press

From left, Major General Francisco Lorenzo Jr., Philippine exercise director, Philippine military Chief General Romeo Brawner, U.S. Charge d' Affaires, Ad interim Y. Robert Ewing, Philippine Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations J3 Major General Elmer Suderio and US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman, Commanding General I Marine Expeditionary Force, pose during the opening ceremonies of the joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" or "Shoulder to Shoulder", Monday, April 20, 2026, at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

U.S. and allied forces kick off combat drills with Philippines despite Washington’s focus on Iran

By Jim Gomez - Associated Press

In this photo provided by the Australian Defense Force, the People's Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang travels in the Torres Strait off Australia's coast on Feb. 11, 2025. (Australian Defense Force via AP) **FILE**

Chinese warships, jets conduct combat patrol near disputed South China Sea shoal

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times

In this undated file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. (Liu Rui/Xinhua via AP, File) **FILE**

China starts to build ‘environmental monitoring stations’ on disputed islands in South China Sea

By L. Todd Wood

The new Chinese passport outlines all of the South China Sea as part of China’s territorial waters. The Philippines has protested China’s depiction of its claims. The potentially oil- and gas-rich waters also are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia. (Associated Press)

Manila challenges Beijing’s South China Sea hegemony

By Ashish Kumar Sen and - The Washington Times