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China’s Military Says It Tracked Philippine Patrol in South China Sea

An aerial view of what Philippine Coast Guard alleges were Chinese vessels, manned by Chinese maritime militia loitering within the vicinity of Thitu Island, one of nine features occupied by the Philippines in Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea, March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view of what Philippine Coast Guard alleges were Chinese vessels, manned by Chinese maritime militia loitering within the vicinity of Thitu Island, one of nine features occupied by the Philippines in Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea, March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
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China’s Military Says It Tracked Philippine Patrol in South China Sea

An aerial view of what Philippine Coast Guard alleges were Chinese vessels, manned by Chinese maritime militia loitering within the vicinity of Thitu Island, one of nine features occupied by the Philippines in Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea, March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view of what Philippine Coast Guard alleges were Chinese vessels, manned by Chinese maritime militia loitering within the vicinity of Thitu Island, one of nine features occupied by the Philippines in Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea, March 9, 2023. (Reuters)

China's military said on Saturday it monitored and tracked a joint patrol organized by the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea on October 30 and October 31.

Washington and Manila have beefed up military cooperation, unveiling plans on Friday to form a new joint task force for areas including the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

Tian Junli, a spokesperson of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said the patrol, with unnamed partners, "seriously undermined regional peace and stability".

He called the Philippines "a troublemaker" in the region.

"The theater command forces remain on high alert and will resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," Tian added in a statement.

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

The armed forces of Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States held a drill in the South China Sea on October 30 and 31.

The US 7th Fleet said the exercise aimed to demonstrate "a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific".

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that China's claims were not supported by international law, a decision Beijing rejects.

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World

German President Calls Iran War a Disastrous Mistake, in Rare Rebuke of Trump

FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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German President Calls Iran War a Disastrous Mistake, in Rare Rebuke of Trump

FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The Iran war is a "disastrous mistake" that breaches international law, Germany's president said on Tuesday in an unusually blunt rebuke of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he said marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally.

In a scathing verbal attack, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality.

"Our foreign policy does not become more ⁠convincing just because we ⁠do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law," Steinmeier, a former foreign minister from the center-left Social Democratic Party, said in a speech at the foreign ministry.

"We must address this with regard to the war in Iran. For, in my view, this war is contrary to international law," he said, adding he had little doubt that the ⁠justification of the imminent nature of an attack on US targets did not hold water.

Calling the war unnecessary and a "politically disastrous mistake", Reuters quoted Steinmeier as saying that Trump's second term marked a rupture in German foreign relations as profound as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Just as I believe there will be no going back in relations with Russia to before February 24, 2022, so too do I believe there will be no going back in transatlantic relations to before January 20, 2025," said Steinmeier.

Germany had to apply lessons it learned in extricating itself from "excessive dependencies" on Russia and apply them to the US, ⁠particularly in ⁠defense and technology, which translate to power, he said.

Germany has stressed the importance of creating alternatives to US-dominated technology as concerns grow over US access.

China returned to being Germany's top trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, overtaking the US as higher tariffs weighed on German exports. Trade between the US and Germany amounted to more than 163 billion euros ($190 billion) over that period.

The recent spat between the Pentagon and Anthropic over safety guardrails surrounding the latter's artificial intelligence could be a wake-up call, or even an opportunity, for Europe, said Steinmeier.

"Europe as a technology hub has talent, markets, opportunities and, importantly, ethical standards. We should build on these," he said.

World

Iran Arrests 466 People Accused of Online Activity Undermining National Security

A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Arrests 466 People Accused of Online Activity Undermining National Security

A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian police arrested 466 people accused of online activities aimed at undermining national security, state media reported on Tuesday, in one ‌of the biggest ‌security sweeps ‌since ⁠the start of ⁠the war with Israel and the United States.

Iranian media have reported more ⁠than 1,000 ‌arrests ‌over the course of ‌the month, pertaining ‌to individuals accused of filming sensitive locations, sharing anti-government content online, ‌or "cooperating with the enemy".

A police statement ⁠said ⁠the arrests followed intelligence and technical monitoring in recent days, alleging the individuals were connected to “enemy” networks seeking to create internal instability.

World

Iran Media Says Energy Infrastructure Attacked

A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
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Iran Media Says Energy Infrastructure Attacked

A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.

"As part of the ongoing attacks carried out by the Zionist and American enemy, the gas administration building and the gas pressure regulation station on Kaveh Street in Isfahan were targeted," said the Fars news agency.

The facilities in central Iran were "partially damaged", added Fars, which was Iran's only news outlet to report the incident.

It said an attack also targeted the gas pipeline of the Khorramshahr power plant, in the country's southwest.

"A projectile hit the area outside the Khorramshahr gas pipeline processing station," Fars reported, quoting the governor of the city bordering Iraq.

It did not specify the extent of the damage.

Trump told AFP on Monday that "things are going very well" with Iran, shortly after announcing talks with Tehran and a five-day pause on targeting the country’s power plants.

Trump's abrupt shift on Iran came hours before the expiration of a two-day ultimatum under which he threatened to attack Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media however said on Monday that there were no negotiations underway towards ending the war.