“We had a frank exchange here in China on maritime security issues and the South China Sea,” Tillerson told reporters during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing on Thursday.” The U.S. position remains unchanged.”

He added, “We insist on upholding freedom of navigation, that claimants be consistent with international law and that claimants should stop construction and militarization of outposts in order to maximize prospects for successful diplomacy.”

China lays claim to virtually the entire area— a strategic waterway through which more than $3 trillion in trade passes through each year, and spotted with islands housing oil and gas fields. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claims to parts of the South China Sea. In the past, China has caught the eye of the international community for creating artificial islands in the region and increasing its military presence there.

The Obama Administration responded to these efforts by sending U.S. warships to conduct freedom of navigation patrols—a move stepped up by President Trump.

The thorny issue is likely to come up as Trump completes his five-nation tour across Asia. He’s set to take part in two regional summits in Vietnam and the Philippines. The latter recently sued China over their claims to the South China Sea. Their view was backed by an international arbitration court. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he will ask China to come clean with its true intentions in the South China Sea, even though he’s typically brushed the issue aside during his past sixteen months in office.

But according to China’s Foreign Ministry, Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping have expressed a commitment to maintaining peace on the South China Sea.

“Both sides support the protection of freedom of navigation and overflight for all countries, in accordance with international law,” it said in a statement. “The United States has angered China with freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-controlled islands in the South China Sea, which have been continued by the Trump administration.”

A wind turbine installation vessel, developed in China for use near its coasts, is sparking new hope that the dominant party in a six-way maritime sovereignty dispute will share technology. But analysts warn Beijing seldom brings in outsiders. The Chinese government has a wide technological lead in the South China Sea sovereignty dispute with Taiwan and…

After what U.S. officials said was several months of deliberation among President Donald Trump’s national security team, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently took a rather strident tone towards China in a major speech that came just weeks before Trump’s first state visit to China. “The United States seeks constructive relations with China, but we will…

China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have held their largest-ever joint maritime rescue exercise, signalling a lull in South China Sea tensions. The drill on Tuesday simulated a collision between a Chinese passenger ship and a Cambodian cargo vessel off south China’s Guangdong province. It involved about 1,000 rescuers aboard 20…

Chinese leaders are expected to emerge from a party congress this month with signals on whether they will take a hard or soft stance toward the widely contested South China Sea, a region of concern from Southeast Asia to Washington. China claims nearly the entire 3.5 million-square-kilometer, resource-rich sea between its south coast and the island…

The article was penned amid rumors that China’s massive Liaoning warship will soon be making a visit to Hong Kong. The Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily in Hong Kong cited unidentified sources who said the Liaoning would port there on July 7. China’s state-run news agency confirmed it left eastern Chinese port of Qingdao on Sunday escorted by two destroyers on a routine mission. Sing Tao said the fighter-jet-equipped show of force would be open for visits by local Hong Kong residents.

But, some analysts see a practical use for the ship and the growing Chinese military.

“A well trained and equipped military force is better positioned to deal with threats to Beijing’s control of the city than a poorly trained symbolic garrison unit,” said Timothy R. Heath, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corp think tank, in an interview with CNN. “The professionalization of the PLA garrison force also serves a political purpose in instilling patriotism among Hong Kong residents and reminding them of China’s power and strength.”

Ha added, “The Liaoning’s visit signals Beijing’s desire to promote patriotic, pro-China feelings among its young people. The PRC government wants to reinforce the message that it has made China strong and will lead the country to revitalization as a great power.”

The PLA’s growing presence can be traced back to the last few years. Last October, it spent the second straight year running military war games simulating China’s defeat of an occupying force in Hong Kong’s New Territories.

Although the previous Administration often sent warships into the South China Sea to uphold freedom of navigation and challenge China’s claim to virtually the entire region, some analysts say this move went a step further.

Beforehand, these exercises involved a warship undergoing “innocent passage” and passing the sea without stopping – effectively recognizing territorial waters, much to the disappointment of regional allies that also lay claims to parts of the South China Sea.

In particular, the USS Dewy conducted a “man overboard” exercise, specifically to show that its passage within 12 nautical miles was not innocent passage, U.S. officials said. China says that in response, it sent two guided-missile warships warning the U.S. ship to leave the area.

Greg Poling of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank told Reuters: “The previous two freedom-of-navigation operations only challenged China’s demand for prior notification for innocent passage through the territorial sea; this one asserted that there is no territorial sea at all.”

However, U.S. Commander Gary Ross maintained the drill was not specific to one country.

The South China Sea is a strategic waterway by which $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass through each year. It is contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines — the latter of which took the case to an international court and won. China refused to recognize the ruling. Beijing continues to build and militarize artificial islands in the region claiming it’s only building defenses legally in its own territory.

The United States’ latest drill comes ahead of a visit between U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and regional counterparts in Singapore. At the same time, the U.S. is urging — and to some degree succeeding — in pushing China to take a stronger stance against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The latest incursion, of course, may further complicate the matter.

The publication reports China installed Norinco CS/AR-1 55mm anti-frogman rocket launcher defense systems to protect itself against military combat divers from Vietnam, a neighbor that also lays claims to the South China Sea. The reported military buildup would add to China’s militarization of the disputed waters. However, Beijing maintains it is merely building up defenses in its own territory – something the United States disagrees with. In the past, former President Barack Obama often sent Naval ships into the territory to uphold what it says is freedom of navigation.

Fiery Cross Reef is administered by China but also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

China claims virtually all the South China Sea, a lucrative waterway that seed more than $5 trillion worth of trade pass through it each year.

He says Manila is also working on completing a framework for a code of conduct to minimize maritime issues.

“We will try stressing the importance of promoting or at least managing tensions and disputes peacefully and through diplomatic means,” Manalo told reporters. “We acknowledge that differences exist, but that does not mean the whole relationship should be affected by that, because we also have good economic relationships and people to people exchanges.”

In May, the Philippines plans to initiate a bilateral consultation mechanism between the two countries.

“They will be dealing with technical issues, but on a political high-level, a meeting between national leaders,” he said. “It’s a very good opportunity for us and China to raise issues. We can now talk face to face in an atmosphere that we can solve differences peacefully. The mechanism is partly one attempt to see how we can now talk about this difference [on the South China Sea].”

Beijing claims virtually all the South China Sea in conflict with several of its neighbors. Tensions between China and The Philippines have soured especially after Manila took the issue to an international court, where it was ruled that China’s claims were illegitimate. Beijing chose to ignore the ruling and has raised tensions by establishing artificial islands capable of housing military personnel and weaponry.

Washington maintained it would continue its operations in the region. China claimed that area in 2013, a statement the U.S. and Japan has rejected since. On Thursday, Chinese government officials called on the U.S. to respect its self-proclaimed ADIZ.

U.S. Pacific Air Forces told CNN a B-1 bomber was flying near South Korea on Sunday before its pilots reported to Chinese air traffic controllers that they were undergoing routine operations in international airspace. The aircraft never deviated from its flight path.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she had no knowledge of the matter and referred questions to the Defense Ministry.

“But, generally speaking, I hope that in this region all countries’ actions consider the security concerns of relevant countries and be beneficial for mutual trust, peace and stability between countries,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

Commander Gary Ross, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, said the U.S viewed China’s ADIZ over the East China Sea “a unilateral change to the status quo … that raises regional tensions and increases the risk of miscalculation, confrontation and accidents.”

He added, “The United States will not acquiesce to unilateral acts of other States designed to restrict the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace, as reflected in international law. We do not accept, nor do we recognize, the East China Sea ADIZ declared by China.”

This is the latest in a series of war-game-like scenarios between China and the U.S., which in recent years has sent warships to defend freedom of navigation in waters claimed by China. The South China sea is virtually entirely claimed by Beijing. Her neighbors including Vietnam and the Philippines also claim parts. Several countries have shown signs of strengthening ties with the U.S. in what it perceives as Chinese militarization of territorial waters.