South China Sea disputes

The PM's comments came after the publication of a leaked Chinese diplomatic note ordering the country to cease exploration activities in the South China Sea.

U.S. F-35s and F-22s have toured Southeast Asia twice this year, reflecting an American desire to increase training exercises with nations in the vicinity of the South China Sea.

The two nations' defense ministers have pledged to sign an MoU on defense cooperation by the end of the year.

The incident comes a week after a similar encounter near the shoal, which lies 140 kilometers off the coast of the Philippines' westernmost island, Palawan.

The clash suggests that Beijing's pressure campaign, previously focused on Second Thomas Shoal, is moving to other parts of the Spratly Islands.

The encounter over Scarborough Shoal was the first aerial run-in since high-seas hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea started to flare last year.

The Philippines and Vietnam have had a complicated relationship over the South China Sea, but they are finding value in strategic alignment. 

An analysis of the Philippines’ recent resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal suggests that the understanding can, in fact, satisfy both sides’ red lines.

The two nations are strengthening their maritime cooperation against a backdrop of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The announcement caps off two years that have seen a considerable strategic convergence between the two long-standing allies.

Manila said that “no untoward incidents" took place during Saturday's mission to Second Thomas Shoal, but the two sides continue to trade public barbs.

The bloc's foreign ministers and their international counterparts are meeting at a tense time in regional affairs.