China Conducts Military Patrol in South China Sea, Warns Philippines

A China Navy Ship with bow number 574 observes the Philippines United States Japan Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity off a disputed South China Sea shoal on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
A China Navy Ship with bow number 574 observes the Philippines United States Japan Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity off a disputed South China Sea shoal on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
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China Conducts Military Patrol in South China Sea, Warns Philippines

A China Navy Ship with bow number 574 observes the Philippines United States Japan Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity off a disputed South China Sea shoal on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)
A China Navy Ship with bow number 574 observes the Philippines United States Japan Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity off a disputed South China Sea shoal on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP)

China's military said it had conducted a patrol in the South China Sea on Friday, the day US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila, which disputes some of Beijing's claims in the waterway.

A spokesman for the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army said on Saturday that the Philippines frequently enlisted foreign countries to organize "joint patrols" and "disseminated illegal claims" in the region, destabilizing the area.

Hegseth met his counterpart Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday in Manila, the first stop on a tour of Asia that also includes Japan. The same day, the United States, Japan and the Philippines held naval drills in the South China Sea.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

China claims almost all the South China Sea - through which $3 trillion in commerce moves annually - overlapping with sovereignty claims by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.



Denmark to Host Meeting on Arctic Security

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen walks on the day of the meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Oslo, Norway May 9, 2025. NTB/Terje Pedersen via REUTERS
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen walks on the day of the meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Oslo, Norway May 9, 2025. NTB/Terje Pedersen via REUTERS
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Denmark to Host Meeting on Arctic Security

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen walks on the day of the meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Oslo, Norway May 9, 2025. NTB/Terje Pedersen via REUTERS
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen walks on the day of the meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Oslo, Norway May 9, 2025. NTB/Terje Pedersen via REUTERS

The leaders of Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway will meet Monday for talks on Arctic security, Denmark's government said, as US President Donald Trump vies to gain control of Greenland.

Trump has repeatedly said the US needs the strategically-located resource-rich Arctic island for security reasons, and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it.

Trump's comments have sparked concern in other Arctic regions as well, including Iceland and Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

The remarks have also angered Danish and Greenlandic leaders, who have insisted that the island will decide its own future and the US "will not get Greenland."

"Even though our countries meet in different parts of the world, it is natural that we, in this circle of countries, meet to discuss the current security situation in the Arctic and the North Atlantic," AFP quoted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as saying in a statement issued on Sunday.

Monday's talks will be held in Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and be attended by Frederiksen as well as Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir and Faroe Islands Prime Minister Aksel Johannesen.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store will participate via video link.