The Philippine navy said on Friday its ships were holding drills near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, a day after Manila and Beijing agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite ongoing disputes.

Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at Unaizah May 4, a Philippine Navy chartered vessel, conducting a routine resupply mission to troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, on March 5, 2024, in the South China Sea. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines accused China on Tuesday of intimidating its fishermen at a disputed South China Sea shoal, and normalizing an “illegal presence,” after Beijing sent its largest coast guard vessel into Manila’s maritime zone.

THE PHILIPPINES under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has filed 199 diplomatic protests against China, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, amid growing tensions in the South China. Last year,

The Philippines said Sunday it had deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to "alter the existing status quo" of the disputed South China Sea.

Some Western media outlets recently reported that Chinese State-backed hackers hacked into Philippine government departments and stole sensitive data as part of a yearslong operation. This is a total lie fabricated just to goad the near-hibernating Marcos government to carry on its fool's errand.

The Philippines has deployed air and sea assets of its military and coast guard in its exclusive economic zone to monitor China's largest coast guard vessel, calling the ship's presence an act of Chinese "intimidation,

Japan and the Philippines vowed Wednesday to strengthen security cooperation to counter China's actions in key sea trade routes, amid speculation incoming US President Donald Trump could scale back security commitments in Asia.