The fatal collision with an oil tanker occurred in waters off Scarborough Shoal,an atoll disputed by Manila and Beijing that has everyone jumping.
Philippine officials condemned China’s installation of a 300-metre-long barrier at the entrance to the rich fishing waters of the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal.
Manila says China’s maritime militia has modified the natural topography of its underwater terrain. Beijing says the claims are fiction.
Taiwan is often spoken of in terms of the US and China,but not in terms of what its own people - like me - hope to see regarding their fate.
The US president,tired from a gruelling four-day trip to Asia,said China’s slowing economy might prove a reprieve for the island.
It’s taken a mutual wariness,and even alarm,about China’s economic coercion and territorial expansionism to bond the two nations together.
Anthony Albanese is pushing to deepen economic and security ties with South-East Asia as he departs on a three-nation overseas diplomatic trip.
The Philippines has granted the US access to more military bases,as tensions with China mount.
Despite the countries being vocal critics of China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters,the Philippine military said Beijing wasn’t the envisioned target.
Richard Marles is in the Philippines observing joint military exercises. Anthony Albanese is soon to meet its president. All while trying to improve relations with Beijing.
China carried out military drills near Taiwan that included sending 25 aircraft,including fighter jets,over the Taiwan Strait’s median line that has served as a barrier between the two sides.