Philippine forces retake an island in mock combat as China’s navy watches

Associated Press

THITU ISLAND, South China Sea (AP) — Philippine forces have staged drills that included seizing an island in the South China Sea as Chinese navy ships kept watch from a distance. Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the exercise underscored the readiness of Filipino forces to defend the country’s sovereignty at all costs. There were no immediate comments from Chinese officials but they have opposed past war drills in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. The long-seething territorial disputes that also involve other claimants are a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in Asia and likely will remain a major foreign policy concern for the next American president.