Philippine President Ferdinand Marco Jr signed two laws on ... China has enacted domestic laws covering the South China Sea, such as a coast guard law in 2021 that allows it to detain foreigners suspected of trespassing. With an armada of coast guard ...

BEIJING (AP) — China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, where the new laws clash with Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.

Supported by gunboats and a former U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Philippine Navy SEALs and Marines approached a South China Sea island owned by Manila in a simulated seizure drill as Chinese forces observed from afar on Wednesday.

China summoned the Philippines' ambassador on Friday to express its objection to two new laws in the Southeast Asian nation asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea,

The move from Beijing comes just a day after the Philippines signed two laws defining the country’s maritime zones

The Philippines recently passed two major laws— the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act—to strengthen its control and authority over its territorial waters. These new laws aim to protect the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its maritime zones,