The U.S. military is supporting Philippine operations in the South China Sea via a special task force, a U.S. embassy official said on Thursday, an initiative Manila said involves intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.Task Force-Ayungin, named after the Philippine designation for the contested Second Thomas Shoal, was first mentioned this week by U.S.
Volunteer lifeguards from Spanish charity Open Arms assisted 54 migrants stranded on a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness.The group said it gave the passengers, who were mainly Syrian nationals, life jackets and water after alerting the Italian Coast Guard, which later took them to Lampedusa.
China and Russia have begun live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea, Russian and Chinese state media reported, with the two countries having strengthened military and trade ties in recent years following U.S. sanctions on both.The opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese naval exercise 'Maritime Cooperation - 2024' took place in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang
China said on Monday "illegal" beaching of Philippine warships at the Nansha islands in the South China Sea had "gravely damaged" the coral reef ecosystem in the area, as both countries tussle over disputed territory at atolls in the vast waterway.China's Ministry of Natural Resources, in a comprehensive report
China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in the South China Sea on Monday, with Manila saying its armed forces would resist Beijing's actions in the disputed waters, the latest in an increasingly testy series of confrontations.U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson condemned China's "aggressive, dangerous" manoeuvres in a post on X
The Philippine military on Tuesday rejected Chinese allegations that troops stationed on a warship grounded on a disputed South China Sea shoal had pointed guns at its coast guard, insisting its personnel maintained professional conduct.Philippine troops are governed by rules of engagement and acted with the highest level of professionalism