The risk of a clash between China and the U.S. grows by the day as Beijing flexes it muscles in disputed areas of the South and East China seas, according to a new study by think tank Rand Corp. Photo

A sharp escalation in military tensions in the South China Sea this week is raising alarm among marine insurers, with the latest standoff between Chinese and Philippine forces – backed by real-time US surveillance – heightening perceptions of war-risk exposure across the region.

China’s drills near the Scarborough Shoal came as South Korea announced finding new Chinese buoys in the Yellow Sea. China’s coastguard says Philippine vessel ‘dangerously’ approached its ship, resulting in a collision. Currently behind bars at The Hague, former President Rodrigo Duterte is set to win the mayoral seat for Davao City.

Vietnam is on a South China Sea island-building binge that will likely see it soon surpass the area China has reclaimed in the strategic and contested Spratly Islands, according to a new report from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

Tensions are rising in the South China Sea as China threatens Vietnam over its rapid island-building operations. Hanoi has expanded over 280 hectares across 10 features, adding new docks and a 3,000-meter airstrip on Barque Canada Reef.

China’s and Russia’s newly intensified naval partnership could embolden China in the South China Sea, where submarine activity is already intense.

Beijing's shipbuilding capacity is 200 times that of the US, an expert says, calling the scale "extraordinary".

I was actually on Philippine television at the moment it happened on 11 August. I was updating Morning Matters host Gretchen Ho about China’s unusual deployment of coast guard ships around the northern Batanes Islands