The incident occurred about 160km from Scarborough Shoal on Monday, the Philippine coastguard said on Wednesday. 11 crew members survived the sinking.

At a US military conference, Taiwan’s vice-minister for defence says military self-reliance is urgent in the face of persistent threats from the PLA.

Mohamed Muiz told supporters he will stick to his campaign promise and remove Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago state. His People’s National Congress is viewed as heavily pro-China.

US Defence Department has no funds left under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and US$5.4 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority, an official said on Monday.

Serbia’s president denied reports of a military build-up along the border with Kosovo, complaining of a ‘campaign of lies’ against his country.

The US, Australia and UK in March unveiled details of the Aukus plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s to counter China’s ambitions in Indo-Pacific.

Vietnam wants to keep both world powers onside, but striking a balance is becoming increasingly difficult, analysts say, as Hanoi elevates its ties with Washington – and eyes US arms.

The Philippines’ Gilberto Teodoro Jnr has compared Beijing’s recent actions in the South China Sea to that of a schoolyard bully.

Following Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia this month, North Korea could arm Russia in exchange for a technology transfer to boost the North’s nuclear arsenal.

President Tsai Ing-wen says ‘history will forever remember this day’ as the Hai Kun, or Narwhal, submarine makes its first public appearance.

Beijing backed down last month over the Second Thomas Shoal but won’t do so this time, analyst says.

At Scarborough Shoal, some 900km away from the nearest major Chinese land mass, China’s coastguard ships regularly chase Filipinos away from a fishing ground that’s fewer than 240km west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon.

The world’s nuclear powers are boosting investment in their arsenals, with China in particular increasing its stockpile from 350 to 410 warheads.

General Mark Milley is retiring as chairman of the Joint Chiefs this week. He faced repeated crises at home and abroad during a tumultuous term as America’s top military officer.

The White House is hosting Pacific island leaders on Monday as Biden promises to take US engagement in region to ‘next level’ but there are notable absences from the meeting.

Government forces showed off the captured arsenal, as international concern mounted over the plight of ethnic Armenians trapped in the breakaway region.

Ukraine said the strike happened during ‘a meeting of the Russian navy’s leadership’ and the attack killed ‘at least nine people’, including generals.

The new measures include US$482 million over three years to supply Kyiv with 50 armoured vehicles, including medical evacuation vehicles.

US officials have been wary of providing the weapons for fear that Ukraine would use the system to strike targets within Russia and provoke a broader conflict.

Warsaw said it would continue previously agreed deliveries, and the prime minister’s claim it was no longer providing weapons to Ukraine referred to modernising the Polish army.

The White House says it will give Kyiv a ‘significant air defence capability’, but there was no deal to provide the long-range missiles it seeks.

Tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv, sparked by Poland’s ban on Ukrainian grain imports to protect the interests of its farmers, have intensified in recent days.

The president said Seoul and its allies would not stand idly by if Moscow helped Pyongyang enhance its weapons programmes in return for help in the Ukraine war.