Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea. Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

"But now with the sea lanes, they have to stay [inside the lanes ... maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal told reporters during at the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea on Friday. But professor Hu Bo, a Chinese maritime strategy and policy expert ...

Over the weekend, the two nations signed a joint development agreement that refers to “overlapping claims” in the disputed waterway.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, where the new laws clash with Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.

BEIJING (AP) — China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims.

CANBERRA >> China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

BEIJING — China rejected Philippine maritime claims on Sunday, saying new legislation “severely infringes on” Beijing’s territorial sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea, and vowing to protect its own interests.