Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the proposed pact as past efforts to lower the temperature in the waterway have had limited success.

A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet both crashed in the same half hour on Sunday during separate routine operations over the South China Sea. All crew members were safely evacuated and the US Navy has launched an investigation.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense said Friday he told his Chinese counterpart during talks in Malaysia that Washington would "stoutly defend" its interests in the Indo-Pacific. He also signed a new agreement aimed at strengthening security ties with India.

China signed an expanded version of a free trade agreement Tuesday with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with Premier Li Qiang pitching expanded economic

“The moment (the issue) seems to be imposed and dictated by outside forces, things will become more problematic and tense,” he said at the East Asia Summit (EAS), one of the meetings on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits.

A U.S. Navy helicopter and fighter jet crashed within 30 minutes over the South China Sea during routine operations

Marcos Jr.’s tactlessness — even a breach of Asean diplomatic protocol — is due to the fact that he is so totally ignorant of our disputes with China and the nature of incidents in the South China Sea. He is told what to say, by whom or what I don’t know, and he says it, even in international venues.