Suspected Chinese spies posing as Taiwanese tourists were arrested in the Philippines after allegedly taking photographs of Philippine Coast Guard ships, Taipei Times reported. According to local media,

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday challenged China to stop its 'aggressive and coercive behavior' and its claiming of territory in the West Philippine Sea and said he would return a Typhon missile system to the United States.

The National Security Council (NSC) on Friday expressed its support to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s call to China to respect the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and cease its "aggressive and coercive behavior" in the vital waterway.

Philippine security officials said Thursday they took into custody five more Chinese spies, following the arrest of a compatriot for espionage this month.

China's coast guard continues its weeklong presence near the Philippines' Zambales Province in what one analyst calls "a new level of sustained intensity."

The Philippines has launched a comic book to counter what the country says is China’s disinformation campaign to push its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila and condemned Beijing for its "dangerous and destabilising" actions in the Sea, in his first phone call with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

Philippine authorities said Thursday that they had arrested five Chinese citizens for alleged spying, a week after arresting another Chinese national in the midst of a territorial dispute between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.

THE offer to remove a US missile system from the Philippines has been made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., provided Beijing, which has been bullying

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday his government will remove a US missile system from the Philippines if Beijing ends its "aggressive and coercive behavior" in the contested South China Sea and ceases claiming Filipino territory.

The Philippines government, through its Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), will continue to strive for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to its maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).