The Philippines says that like Vietnam, it opposes a recent Chinese flight test in a newly completed runway on one of seven islands Beijing constructed in the disputed South China Sea.

Tensions are rising in the East China Sea after China deployed an armed, former navy frigate for the first time to challenge Japan’s control of contested islands in what may be an attempt to shift Tokyo’s attention away from disputes in the South China Sea.

The drone prototype will conduct flight tests over the South China Sea in 2016.

The U.S. should cease sending ships and planes to China’s South China Sea islands, stop showing off its military might and respect China’s core interests, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Secretary of State John Kerry.

Legal fixation on West Philippine Sea islands limits Philippine action and fails to take into account evolving realities and dynamics, notably increasing U.S.-China competition that blurs and shifts alliances, compelling smaller powers to be more cautious and contributing to overall regional anxiety and instability.

China is accusing the U.S. of a serious military provocation following the flight of an American B-52 strategic bomber over a Chinese-controlled man-made island in the South China Sea.

While China’s action falls within common international legal practice, Manila’s unilateral pursuit of its claims violates the rule and spirit of its agreements with Beijing on how to resolve such disputes, and threatens the peaceful order of the region. China and other claimants are all developing countries with economic and social uplift as their main task, and should settle their disputes with direct negotiation as outlined in ASEAN agreements.

China's military is paying "close attention" to an agreement between the United States and Singapore to deploy the U.S. P8 Poseidon spy plane to the city state and hopes the move does not harm regional stability, the defense ministry said.

The United States has deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane in Singapore for the first time, amid heightened tensions in the region over China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Manila’s just-completed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) consisted of two parts. The official summit agreed on the need to fight terrorism, enhance economic growth, reduce poverty and increase climate change resiliency. Unofficially, the huge political gulf between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea was on display.