South China Sea

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already signed off on 52 formal diplomatic protests against China in 72 days, according to reports.

It would be a major surprise if Xi, who has effectively consolidated power around himself in the last decade, fails to retain his core leadership role.

The Ukraine war is turning Russia into "Beijing's junior partner," according to one analyst.

The firing of Chinese Dongfeng series missiles in the backdrop of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit was picked up by Taiwan, according to its defence ministry.

The White House warns China not to use the trip as a "pretext to increase aggressive military activity" near Taiwan.

With the current dispute over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan fueling tensions in the South China Sea, Newsweek looks at Washington and Beijing's regional presence.

A top Biden administration official has explained how the U.S. plans to contain Chinese aggression in the Pacific in coordination with American allies.

Risky and unsafe actions by Chinese forces in the South China Sea have reportedly been escalating over the last five years.

A Chinese warship followed American guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold as it sailed through the disputed Paracel Islands on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend the Philippines if its forces are attacked in the South China Sea.

The latest saga in the dispute over Philippine-controlled Second Thomas Shoal saw a Chinese vessel issue a direct threat to Manila's resupply boats.

One lawmaker said he "wonders when we are just going to get the amendment to have a trillion-dollar defense budget because it seems that's where we are going."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slammed China's harassment of "allied aircraft operating lawfully in the East China and the South China Seas" on Saturday.

Russia's biggest bank, Sberbank, has suspended yuan transactions and Huawei is closing outlets in the country.

Beijing denies its pilots performed any dangerous maneuvers days after both Canada and Australia reported "unprofessional" intercepts in international airspace.

Australia's defense minister complained of "dangerous" maneuvers by Chinese pilots, who also reportedly flipped off Canadian pilots days earlier.

Taiwan's defense chief intimated this week that any fortification efforts could be seen as escalatory.

"They have advanced all their capabilities, and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region," the official said.

The Chinese air force's fleet of Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft has not been detected in flight operations near Taiwan since March 1.

The Former Secretary of State is in Taiwan as a private citizen, after the Biden administration dispatched its own delegation amid concerns over Ukraine.

The video was described by military officials as an "unauthorized leak."

"The Chinese ships are armed," Hitoshi Nakama, an Okinawan councilor-turned-fisherman, told JAPAN Forward. "The patrol vessels have cannons mounted on the decks."

An investigation is looking into the cause of January's "landing mishap," while another probe is focusing on the source of leaked images.

The U.S. Navy has told Newsweek the footage was taken onboard USS Carl Vinson on Monday.

"It is our own ocean, but instead of catching fish, we are too afraid to go back there because somebody might attack us," Dionesio Cabacungan, a fisherman at Sisiman Port, Philippines, told RadioFreeAsia. "They tried to shoot at us. Three times they shot."

On Monday, the U.S. Navy reported one of its fighter aircraft was involved in a "landing mishap" on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea.

The accident happened on the second day of naval drills involving two U.S. Navy aircraft carrier groups in the contested waters.

The Japan-based U.S. 7th Fleet's first "freedom of navigation operation" of the year took a Navy warship through the waters around the disputed Paracel Islands.

The 44-page report finds China's vast maritime claims in the South China Sea to be inconsistent with international law.

Beijing's maritime authorities have announced a series of live-fire drills scheduled for this week.