In the event of a war, officials believe local forces must hold out for at least a month before reinforcements from allies arrive.

The task force aims to enhance interoperability and crisis responses of American and Filipino troops, particularly in the disputed sea.

The United States and the Philippines have formed a new joint task force to strengthen cooperation and increase military readiness in areas including the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Chinese coast guard ships have used powerful water cannons and rammed a Philippine government vessel near Thitu Island in the South China Sea.

Philippine forces trained last week to defend Balabac, a strategic island in Palawan that is set to host a new military base dedicated to South China Sea operations. Philippine Marines and Coast Guard special forces held joint maritime boarding operations in the vicinity of Balabac Island,

N ew satellite imagery has captured the USS Nimitz strike carrier group operating in the South China Sea amid rising tensions with China. The South China Sea is a critical maritime corridor, with an estimated one-fifth of global trade passing through its waters each year.

Malaysia handed over the chairmanship of Southeast Asia's regional bloc to the Philippines on Tuesday (Oct 28), with territorial disputes in the South China Sea set to

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter The Philippines on Tuesday kicked off its annual military drills aimed at testing the country’s territorial defense strategies and its armed forces’ ability to repel potential invasions amid an increasingly coercive China in the contested South China Sea.

The move, if it occurs, would be in response to China's escalating hostilities near disputed waters as Trump is poised to meet with Xi, sources say.