President Rodrigo Duterte will bring up territorial issues in his Beijing meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Philippines ambassador said on Thursday, as tensions rise over claims to the South China Sea.

The "militarization" of the South China Sea is threatening peace in the contested waterway, the EU's top diplomat said Monday in Hanoi, echoing warnings from the US as pressure mounts against Beijing's ambitions in the region.

Beijing confirmed Saturday that a Chinese vessel hit a Philippine fishing boat in a collision which has increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea, but denied claims it was a "hit and run".

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte voiced rare frustration with China Friday, urging progress on a code of conduct for the contested South China Sea, which he warned was becoming a "flashpoint".

The US military's top general said Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jingping reneged on promises not to militarize the South...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said his nation could go to war if its soldiers were hurt in the disputed South China Sea, a top aide said Wednesday after allegations emerged that Beijing had harassed Manila's troops in the area.

China has voiced "strong dissatisfaction" after two US warships sailed by an island claimed by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, adding to simmering tensions in the strategic waterway.

Vietnam and China agreed Monday to avoid conflicts in the hotly contested South China Sea, as a new pathway to dialogue on easing tensions was opened with other Southeast Asian nations.

An American warship on Sunday sailed close to a disputed island in the South China Sea occupied by Beijing, a US official said, a provocative move that could further strain relations between the superpowers.

China has expressed "firm opposition" to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing's "militarisation" of the South China Sea.

China on Thursday accused the US of trespassing after an American warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, the first such operation by President Donald Trump's administration in the disputed waterway.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday China's leaders told him they were prepared to go to war over competing claims in the South China Sea.