China said on Friday it had driven away a Philippine aircraft and multiple vessels near disputed atolls in South China Sea, in the latest in a series of confrontations in the strategic waterway in recent years.

Philippine officials say Chinese forces have fired three flares from an artificial island toward a Philippine plane undertaking a routine patrol in the disputed South China Sea.

A key fugitive listed on Interpol's red notice was apprehended in the Philippines and repatriated to China through cooperation between the Chinese and Filipino law enforcement authorities, local media reported on Thursday.

Manila rushed two patrol boats to protect fishermen in the South China Sea after a water cannon attack from Chinese cutters that left three injured in one of the most severe incidents at Sabina Shoal this year.

Chinese coast guard ships have used powerful water cannons and blocking maneuvers against 20 Philippine fishing boats off a disputed South China Sea shoal.

The "routine" maritime domain awareness flight was jointly conducted by the Philippine fisheries bureau and coast guard over the Spratly’s Kalayaan Island Group "as part of its legitimate mandate to protect the country’s maritime jurisdiction and the livelihood of Filipino fishermen," coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela wrote on X.

BEIJING, ‌Dec ​12 (Reuters) - China's ‌military said ​on ‍Friday it ​had ​driven away ⁠a Philippine aircraft that had "invaded" ‌airspace above ​the disputed ‌Scarborough ‍Shoal in ⁠the South China Sea. The Embassy ​of the Philippines in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for ​comment.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed hopes that the Philippines’ bilateral relations with China will further improve through the efforts of

China's new ambassador to the Philippines has said both sides should try to get relations back on a "healthy" course, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has said differences between the two countries should be the "exception rather than the norm".

A Philippine patrol plane on December 6, 2025, captured footage of the "Maritime Militia" at Subi Reef, one of three artificial islands China has militarized within the Philippine Maritime zone.