Countries surrounding the South China Sea have built more than 90 outposts on around 70 islands, rocks and reefs in the highly disputed area, satellite images show.

For more than a decade, China has been using an increasingly aggressive hybrid-warfare strategy to increase its power and influence in the strategically important South China Sea. Countering it will be one of the defining

The South China Sea, a vast and resource-rich area, has been the subject of intense territorial disputes for years. Countries like the Philippine, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing claims over parts of the sea,

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, where the new laws clash with Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.

Supported by gunboats and a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Philippine Navy SEALs and Marines approached a South China Sea island owned by Manila in a simulated seizure drill as Chinese forces observed from afar on Wednesday.

The move was lauded by the US and Australia for upholding international law in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and a 2016 arbitration by the UN that found China was illegally infringing upon territory belonging to the Philippines, per PNA .

Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea. Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

China's embassy warned the Philippines to cease any "unilateral actions" after Manila brought in two new maritime laws meant to define territory, sea lanes and air routes.

The Philippines' foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador on Wednesday, November 13, to protest against Beijing's establishment of baseline coordinates around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea,