Filipino and US troops began training exercises this week, the Philippines military said on Wednesday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte's threats to end joint war games and kick American soldiers out of his country.
The Philippines and the United States launched war games on Tuesday against the backdrop of the unusual threat of American forces being ejected from the Southeast Asian nation, as its firebrand leader pivots to China.
An Indian court sentenced a man to death on Thursday for murdering a woman by throwing acid on her face after she rejected his marriage proposal, in a landmark judgement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered Vietnam a credit line on Saturday of half a billion dollars for defence cooperation, giving a lift to a country rapidly pursing a military deterrent as discord festers in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed big reforms to tackle chronic economic flaws and defended his pursuit of a deadly anti-narcotics war, saying drugs were drowning his country and human rights were no excuse to shield criminals.
Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, after objections from Cambodia.
The Philippines will concede nothing to China as it seeks to implement an international tribunal ruling against Beijing's claims to most of the South China Sea, its top lawyer said on Friday.
The Philippines urged Beijing on Thursday to respect an international tribunal's ruling that rejected Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea, and said it would raise the issue at a regional summit.
China vowed to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty in the South China Sea and said it had the right to set up an air defence zone, after rejecting an international tribunal's ruling.
An international tribunal on Tuesday ruled against China in a bitter row over territorial claims to the South China Sea that is likely to ratchet up regional tensions.
Beijing has begun military drills in the South China Sea, state media reported on Saturday ahead of a ruling by an international arbitration court on a dispute with the Philippines over the strategic waters.
Japan's top military commander said on Thursday that Chinese military activity was escalating in the East China Sea, with a spike in emergency jet scrambles in the past three months.
