China rebuked the Philippines on Tuesday for taking journalists to a disputed island in the South China Sea, dismissing its occupation as "futile and illegal" in the latest war of words between the two sides.
China has warned Philippine air force and navy planes at least six times to leave areas around the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine military commander responsible for the region told a Senate hearing on Thursday.
Japan's military is considering joining the United States in maritime air patrols in the South China Sea in response to China's increasingly assertive pursuit of territorial claims, a Japanese and a U.S. source familiar with the discussions said.
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was "extremely concerned" after leaders of Southeast Asian countries expressed worry about land reclamation and navigational freedom in the disputed South China Sea.
