Philippine officials say Chinese forces have fired three flares from an artificial island toward a Philippine plane undertaking a routine patrol in the disputed South China Sea.

China said on Friday it had driven away a Philippine aircraft and multiple vessels near disputed atolls in South China Sea, in the latest in a series of confrontations in the strategic waterway in recent years.

A key fugitive listed on Interpol's red notice was apprehended in the Philippines and repatriated to China through cooperation between the Chinese and Filipino law enforcement authorities, local media reported on Thursday.

Tokyo and Manila have reportedly held informal talks on a possible export of the Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system. The same unit is also slated for deployment on a Japanese island near Taiwan - a move that has drawn Beijing’s ire.

China's new ambassador to the Philippines has said both sides should try to get relations back on a "healthy" course, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has said differences between the two countries should be the "exception rather than the norm".

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has expressed hope that the Philippines’ bilateral relations with China and Chile will further improve under the leadership of the two countries’ newly designated ambassadors.

“Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) is China's inherent territory, and the establishment of Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is within China's sovereignty. It aims to protect the ecological environment of Huangyan Island and maintain the ...

The "routine" maritime domain awareness flight was jointly conducted by the Philippine fisheries bureau and coast guard over the Spratly’s Kalayaan Island Group "as part of its legitimate mandate to protect the country’s maritime jurisdiction and the livelihood of Filipino fishermen," coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela wrote on X.