China's military and coast guard conducted joint air and naval combat drills and patrols around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on July 30-31, 2026. Beijing characterized the maneuvers as a response to actions by countries that undermine regional stability.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels deployed water cannons against Philippine government ships near Scarborough Shoal on July 24, 2026, marking the second consecutive day of such incidents and the third confrontation that week in the disputed South China Sea. A CNN crew was aboard one of the targeted vessels.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial gathering in Manila, amid heightened tensions over China's actions in the South China Sea and broader regional security concerns.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to Manila this weekend for meetings with Asia-Pacific countries, where he is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to prepare for a possible September summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The discussions are also expected to address South China Sea disputes and regional security issues.
The Philippine Senate has begun the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a politically charged proceeding stemming from her feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The trial, granted a maximum of 92 days, comes amid the arrest of a Duterte-allied senator on plunder charges.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the first visit by a Philippine leader in over a decade, while separately securing a pipeline investment agreement with British Columbia aimed at reducing Canada's economic dependence on the United States amid ongoing trade tensions.
Two student suspects opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Philippines, killing three students and wounding seven others in what authorities describe as a bullying-related attack. Both suspects were taken into custody following the rare school shooting incident.
Two students opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban, Philippines on June 22, 2026, killing three students and injuring 20 others in a rare school shooting incident. Philippine authorities responded by blocking the violent gaming app GoreBox and reviewing school safety measures and juvenile prosecution laws.
The Philippine Senate removed an ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte from the Senate presidency on Wednesday, electing a new leader just weeks before the expected impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president's daughter.
China is constructing a structure at the disputed Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines, prompting Manila to demand its removal while Beijing banned the Philippine defense chief from entry. The U.S. has deployed naval assets to monitor the situation as Chinese vessels also entered waters near Taiwan-controlled Itu Aba island.
Philippine Senator Estrada, son of a former president, was detained after surrendering to police on charges of taking kickbacks in a flood-control project scandal. The case represents the latest corruption crisis to hit the country's political establishment.
China sent Coast Guard vessels on law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan as a show of displeasure after Japan and the Philippines agreed to hold maritime boundary delimitation talks in the region.
During Exercise Balikatan, US, Philippine, Japanese and Canadian forces conducted a two-day strike operation that sank two decommissioned vessels using land, sea and air platforms, demonstrating coordinated military capabilities.
The US Army successfully fired a Tomahawk cruise missile from its new Typhon launcher system during the Balikatan exercise in the Philippines, with officials describing the precision as capable of hitting 'a window from a far distance.' The deployment comes as the US plans to withdraw Typhon systems from Germany.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta now offers USDC stablecoin payouts to content creators in select countries (initially Colombia and Philippines) through integration with Stripe's payment infrastructure on Solana and Polygon blockchains.
Philippine officials accused Chinese fishermen of dumping cyanide in the South China Sea, warning the poison could harm marine life and weaken the reef supporting a grounded Philippine warship. Beijing rejected the allegation as a "farce."
The Philippine Coast Guard unveiled its first dedicated command center in the disputed Spratly Islands, establishing a permanent presence at Thitu Island in a flashpoint area of the South China Sea that has seen repeated confrontations with China.
