Regulation stipulates that foreigners suspected of illegally crossing China’s borders can be held for up to 60 days without trial.

Alice Leal Guo, mayor of small town Bamban, was unable to provide details about her early life and background during a senate hearing.

Organisers said they managed to deliver supplies to Filipino fishers despite ‘China’s massive blockade’.

Increased patrols come after discovery of crushed corals near Sabina Shoal, as analyst says the move shows Manila is preparing for potential escalation of tensions.

Nearly 40 officers from the Philippine armed forces took part in a military exchange programme with China that started from 2008.

A coastguard boat escorted the flotilla carrying supplies to Filipino fishermen in the China-controlled reef.

The Beijing-based Grandview Institution says Hanoi ramped up island expansion in the South China Sea from 2021 using large dredgers.

A Chinese think tank calls for a strong response, ‘countermeasures’ after the Balikatan exercise sent an ‘increasingly dangerous’ signal on Taiwan.

This is the group’s second attempt at resupplying the fishermen after a failed try in December when Chinese vessels tailed the group’s main ship.

A report showing that 16,200 Chinese nationals who entered the Philippines as tourists and later received student visas in 2023 has alarmed analysts.

Manila said its coastguard had found crushed corals that had been dumped by Chinese ships around the disputed Sabina Shoal.

The Philippines has deployed a patrol ship to deter Chinese activities in an area near the Sabina Shoal after it found crushed reefs.

Atin Ito civilian-led supply mission to assert Philippine rights expected to be met by China’s ‘huge force to blockade Scarborough Shoal’: former US Air Force official.

Announcement from the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command comes a day after the end of annual US-Philippine Balikatan drills in the area.

The armed forces’ modernisation, spurred by maritime skirmishes with China, has seen it acquire military assets and revamp its defence strategy.

There has been ‘small-scale reclamation’ of the Sabina Shoal and China is ‘the most probable actor’, says a spokesman for the Philippine coastguard.

China told Asean officials that the weapons system, which can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, is a serious threat to regional security and stability,

Philippine authorities have defended Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos but critics continue to doubt him in light of his 2008 attendance at China’s Naval Command College.

War of words over disputed Second Thomas Shoal goes up a notch as purported transcript of resupply deal prompts call for Chinese diplomats to be expelled.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the Chinese embassy’s actions ‘should not be allowed to pass unsanctioned without serious penalty’.

Move comes with both countries locked in an escalating war of words over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, as well as national security fears in Cagayan province.

Manuel Mamba said Chinese minister Sun Weidong conveyed the warning to him in a meeting last year in Beijing.

Maritime assessment in March shows coral reefs on Pag-asa Island severely degraded, with debris around the area indicating the damage is man-made.

China feels the Philippines has broken its word and badly damaged political trust, observer says.

Economic Planning Secretary Balisacan said there was no attempt to sideline Chinese investors even as the two nations increasingly engaged in diplomatic stand-offs.

Military commanders also suggest recorded material, played to selected media, was fabricated.