President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urges Beijing to stop harassing Filipino fishermen, ramming boats, and using water cannons - Anadolu Ajansı

President Ferdinand Marcos said Thursday his government will remove a US missile system from the Philippines if Beijing ends its "aggressive and coercive behaviour" in the contested South China Sea and ceases claiming Filipino territory.

Suspected Chinese spies posing as Taiwanese tourists were arrested in the Philippines after allegedly taking photographs of Philippine Coast Guard ships, Taipei Times reported. According to local media,

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called 'aggressive and coercive behavior' in the South China Sea.

The Philippines will “return” the Typhon missile launchers to the United States if China will drop its claim on the West Philippine Sea and stop its harassment of Filipino vessels. It was an off-the-cuff offer made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

President Marcos is “very disturbed” about the activities of suspected Chinese spies in the country as he assured the public that authorities are expanding the search for their cohorts and more “sleeper agents.

The National Security Council (NSC) on Friday expressed its support to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s call to China to respect the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and cease its "aggressive and coercive behavior" in the vital waterway.

Philippine security officials said Thursday they took into custody five more Chinese spies, following the arrest of a compatriot for espionage this month.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday challenged China to stop its 'aggressive and coercive behavior' and its claiming of territory in the West Philippine Sea and said he would return a Typhon missile system to the United States.

The Philippines has launched a comic book to counter what the country says is China’s disinformation campaign to push its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila and condemned Beijing for its "dangerous and destabilising" actions in the Sea, in his first phone call with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

ZURICH ― Shares in Swiss watchmaker Swatch slumped on Thursday after it reported lower-than-expected earnings on the back of weak sales in China.