Australia’s defense minister and his Philippine counterpart are meeting in Manila on Friday for talks spotlighting their concern over Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea, where Filipino forces were on alert after China deployed a larger number of coast guard forces closer to Manila’s military ship outpost in a

The Philippines and Australia are working towards a new defence agreement to be signed next year, their defence ministers said on Friday, as both nations seek to step up military cooperation to deal with shared security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

Footage shows a Chinese coast guard vessel chasing a Philippine boat and then ramming a Chinese warship. It was the latest confrontation in the contested waters.