The Philippines will soon decide on an international platform to sue China for alleged damage to the marine environment, its justice minister said, as it pursues a second high-profile legal challenge against Beijing over the South China Sea.

The newly installed Trump administration has quickly reaffirmed America’s strong support for the Philippines in the face of an increasingly aggressive China in the disputed South China Sea, despite doubts to the contrary voiced by some observers.

A Philippine security official says China is “pushing us to the wall” with growing aggression in the disputed South China Sea and warned that “all options are on the table” for Manila’s response, including new international lawsuits.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila and condemned Beijing for its "dangerous and destabilising" actions in the Sea, in his first phone call with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

China's claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of the Philippines, which is a U.S. security treaty ally.

The United States is not a party to the issue of the South China Sea and has no right to interfere in maritime issues between China and the Philippines, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday after Washington and Manila made unwarranted remarks against Beijing.

Caught off guard, the Philippines’ only available counter was to run a U.S.-donated World War II-era Navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, aground at nearby Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. As we will see below, this makeshift military outpost would become a key flashpoint in the years to come.

The Philippines launched a comic book on Friday in its fight against what it called distorted narratives about maritime rights in the disputed South China Sea, a move which drew criticism from China.

The Philippines won a landmark case in 2016 that found China's claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea had no basis. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Analysts say the agreement ‘commits both states to a status quo’ and urge the Philippines to hold firm on its South China Sea stance.

Top-ranking officials of the Philippines and the United States of America met on January 22 and tackled China’s dangerous maneuvers in the South China Sea. The US