China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, which has signed a security treaty with Washington that comes with mutual defense commitments.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday he would meet U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss issues including immigration, in an effort to influence policy he said could impact a large number of Filipinos in the United States.

The arrests come as confrontations between the two Asian neighbours over contested reefs and waters in the strategic South China Sea have escalated in recent months

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.

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.

Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea, forcing them to cancel the operation,

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 said the Philippines on Friday sent a civilian vessel to deliver provisions to its warship "illegally grounded" at Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed atoll in the South China Sea. The coast guard "questioned" and "monitored" the Philippine vessel throughout its supply mission,

The Philippines said on Saturday it has suspended a scientific survey in the South China Sea after two of its fisheries vessels faced "harassment" and aggressive behaviour from China's coast guard and navy.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Friday said there were a total of 10,004 cybercrime complaints filed with their office in 2024, more than three times the 3,317 complaints in 2023.

In a statement, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the Philippine government has aways pursued "peaceful and diplomatic measures" in the West Philippine Sea.