U.S. and Philippine fighter aircraft have staged a joint patrol and training over a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese fighter jets fired flares last year to drive away a Philippine aircraft

Air patrol exercise underscores Manila’s efforts to assert its maritime claims while testing US commitment to regional security, analysts say.

The Philippine coast guard says Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea,