The Philippines-U.S. alliance has a new opportunity to be strengthened and the focus this time should be contributing to regional strategic stability, which starts by deterring China in the West Philippine Sea, the portion of the South China Sea within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and nearby flashpoints.

Foreign ministers of the G7 nations have condemned China's actions that have posed risks to regional stability, while expressing concern over efforts to restrict freedom of navigation and overflight through "force" and "coercion" in the South China Sea.

BEIJING: China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the G7 allegations of the South China Sea and China's economic policies, and has lodged serious protests to the Canadian side, the Chinese Embassy

China should recognise that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign state whose actions and decisions are driven entirely by national interest and not at the direction of other countries, Manila's foreign ministry said on Monday.

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have condemned China's aggressive maritime actions in the Indo-Pacific region."We condemn China's illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions,