This year’s ‘biggest ever’ Balikatan exercises kicked off as Manila took delivery of a state-of-the-art missile system from India – and had hopes for US$2.5 billion in US military aid.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Chenda Sophea Sok tells Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Phnom Penh opposes ‘troublemaking in the region by extraterritorial forces’.

Intelligence officers have been sent to investigate potential national-security threats in Cagayan, where about 4,600 Chinese students reportedly live.

The US$868 million Subic-Clark railway will link the former American military bases turned commercial hubs.

Next week’s iteration of the annual joint exercise will be the biggest and a clear signal to Beijing, observers say.

The remarks came after some lawmakers expressed alarm over the some 4,000 non-local students in the province that also houses military bases accessed by US troops.

China rejects Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s claims that its ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte was a ‘secret’ and urges Manila to stick to its commitments on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

Mid-range launcher now in the Philippines is a ‘powerful weapon’ capable of retaliatory strikes on mainland China, analysts say.

Six vessels would participate in the Balikatan exercise that involves a simulation of an armed recapture of an island near the South China Sea.

The call between Dong Jun and Lloyd Austin comes after a series of clashes between the Chinese coastguard and the Philippines, a US ally.

Some 4,600 Chinese nationals have been recorded to be living in the Cagayan area and enrolled in private universities in the city of Tuguegarao.

The Philippine leader says the US has given its commitment to honour the Mutual Defence Treaty with Manila.

Several prominent Filipinos say the deal has effectively handed control of the Second Thomas Shoal to China.

The Philippine president said the cooperation agreement signed in Washington will change the dynamic in Asean and around the contested waterway.

Joint statement by the three leaders makes it clear the Washington summit was aimed at opposing China’s recent maritime activities.

‘If China and Vietnam work well on this’, Manila would ‘not go too far to provoke’ Beijing, analyst says.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte said Chinese President Xi Jinping strongly warned him against drilling for oil in the disputed waters.

Chinese foreign ministry says Beijing consistently committed to dialogue and consultation with Manila over the shoal.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has expressed outrage over a “secret agreement” on the South China Sea that threatens the Philippines’ sovereignty.

Comments follow US President’s meeting with Japanese leader, where they unveiled a series of deals to strengthen military and economic ties to counter China.

Beijing’s reaction followed a directive by the Philippines to probe the reported online recruitment of Filipino military personnel as ‘part-time consultants’.

Trilateral represents ‘new era’ of partnership, says US leader, producing security, economic and diplomatic initiatives in show of unity with Manila.

Central to recent run-ins between the two sides are the Scarborough and Second Thomas shoals located inside Manila’s EEZ, but which Beijing claims as its own.

Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez says the Philippines cannot continue being ‘accepting’ of Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea.

Marcos said his government isn’t aware of any “gentleman’s agreement” with China, and were not briefed by his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, about it when he came into office in 2022.