China has conducted joint naval and air combat drills around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, further escalating tensions in one of the world's most contested maritime regions.

The exercises, announced by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, were described as a test of combat readiness and a demonstration of China's ability to defend what it calls its maritime rights and interests.

The drills took place around Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Dao in China and Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines. The reef lies approximately 220 kilometres west of Luzon and falls within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under international law.

China-Philippines Dispute Deepens | PLA Conducts Joint Naval And Air Exercises

The Philippines has praised India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, calling it a major boost to the country's defense capabilities amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. In an exclusive conversation, the Philippine Ambassador to India highlighted how the BrahMos missile strengthens Manila's deterrence strategy and opens the door for deeper defense cooperation with New Delhi. The development comes as External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar visits Manila for ASEAN meetings and as the Philippines continues to challenge China's expansive claims in the South China Sea. Here's everything you need to know about the growing India-Philippines strategic partnership and its impact on regional security.

Philippines hails BrahMos missile, seeks stronger defense partnership with India amid China dispute

The Türkiye government’s tourism promotion campaign—TurkAegean— has stoked anger in Greece which has accused its NATO ally of culture appropriation.

At the root of this promotional campaign is the word ‘TurkAegean’ used by Türkiye. It is related to the territorial sovereignty over a group of islands spread on the Aegean Sea, which has been a contentious issue between Athens and Ankara.

The region sees a heavy influx of tourists during the summer season from around Europe. Aegean’s sandy beaches and azure waters have been the main tourist pullers.

With its western shores straddling the Aegean, Turkey wants the region not to be associated exclusively with Greece. Last December, it even lodged a request with the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the term TurkAegean.

The application was made public after it got approval from the intellectual property office, triggering a backlash from top Greek politicians.

&nbsp;“Some people … quite simply, did not do their job well,” Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

Greece’s European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas sent a strongly worded letter&nbsp;to Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, demanding a review of the decision, according to Greek media reports on Thursday.

But Turkey has always viewed the Aegean region as part of its territory, even as it fought with Greece over claims to maritime boundaries and their continental shelves.

In November, Turkish Deputy Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan&nbsp;in an interview said that Greece “has made the world perceive the Aegean as its own region”, according to Politico.

“We will do this even more strongly next year and show that the Aegean is not a region of Greece, but also a region of Turkey, a tourism brand.”

However, the controversy surrounding claims to the Aegean Sea is linked to security concerns.

Ankara has accused Athens of deliberately militarising islands close to the Turkish coast in contravention of international treaties, reports The Guardian.

In a move that sparked further concerns among EU diplomats stationed in Athens, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, warned last month that Turkey would challenge the status of Greece’s eastern isles if troops were not withdrawn.

Athens argues it has a right to defend itself on its own soil, noting repeated air incursions by Turkish fighter jets and Ankara’s longstanding threat of war in the event of territorial waters being extended.

Erdoğan has repeatedly invoked the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-22, which ended in military defeat for Athens, saying that, 100 years on, Greece should not be bristling for a fight that it would once again “regret”.

Greek politicians said that Ankara’s TurkAegean campaign must be seen in the context of the strategy the Turkish president was pursuing in the lead-up to elections in 2023.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The Türkiye government’s tourism promotion campaign—TurkAegean— has stoked anger in Greece which has accused its NATO ally of culture appropriation. At the root of this promotional campaign is the word ‘TurkAegean’ used by Türkiye.

The Türkiye government’s tourism promotion campaign—TurkAegean— has stoked anger in Greece which has accused its NATO ally of culture appropriation. At the root of this promotional campaign is the word ‘TurkAegean’ used by Türkiye. It is related to the territorial sovereignty over a group of islands spread on the Aegean Sea, which has been a contentious issue between Athens and Ankara. The region sees a heavy influx of tourists during the summer season from around Europe. Aegean’s sandy beaches and azure waters have been the main tourist pullers. With its western shores straddling the Aegean, Turkey wants the region not to be associated exclusively with Greece. Last December, it even lodged a request with the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the term TurkAegean. The application was made public after it got approval from the intellectual property office, triggering a backlash from top Greek politicians. “Some people … quite simply, did not do their job well,” Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. Greece’s European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas sent a strongly worded letter to Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, demanding a review of the decision, according to Greek media reports on Thursday. But Turkey has always viewed the Aegean region as part of its territory, even as it fought with Greece over claims to maritime boundaries and their continental shelves. In November, Turkish Deputy Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan in an interview said that Greece “has made the world perceive the Aegean as its own region”, according to Politico. “We will do this even more strongly next year and show that the Aegean is not a region of Greece, but also a region of Turkey, a tourism brand.” However, the controversy surrounding claims to the Aegean Sea is linked to security concerns. Ankara has accused Athens of deliberately militarising islands close to the Turkish coast in contravention of international treaties, reports The Guardian. In a move that sparked further concerns among EU diplomats stationed in Athens, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, warned last month that Turkey would challenge the status of Greece’s eastern isles if troops were not withdrawn. Athens argues it has a right to defend itself on its own soil, noting repeated air incursions by Turkish fighter jets and Ankara’s longstanding threat of war in the event of territorial waters being extended. Erdoğan has repeatedly invoked the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-22, which ended in military defeat for Athens, saying that, 100 years on, Greece should not be bristling for a fight that it would once again “regret”. Greek politicians said that Ankara’s TurkAegean campaign must be seen in the context of the strategy the Turkish president was pursuing in the lead-up to elections in 2023. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Türkiye’s ‘TurkAegean’ tourism campaign sparks backlash in Greece

Former Philippines president Fidel Ramos today named the head of a Chinese government think-tank among the experts and officials he hoped to meet on a trip to rekindle ties with China soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea. 
 
On July 12, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines&#39; sovereign rights there, infuriating China, which had dismissed the case. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve always been a very optimistic person, always looking for the best results,&quot; Ramos told reporters in Hong Kong. &quot;But of course that also depends on the attitude of the Chinese officials.&quot; 
 
No details of itinerary&nbsp; 
 
Ramos gave no details of his itinerary or of those he planned to meet, except for Wu Shicun, who heads the National Institute for South China Sea Studies think-tank, based on China&#39;s southern island of Hainan. 
 
Asked about others, such as China&#39;s former deputy minister for Foreign Affairs Fu Ying, Ramos said he did not know yet. 
 
&quot;They all have links with Beijing, because some of them are already retired but elevated to the parliament as chairman of this and that committee.&quot; 
 
Ramos said he sought to improve economic and tourism links, such as by allowing &quot;more fishing in the common fishing ground&quot; of the Scarborough shoal in the Philippines&#39; exclusive economic zone. 
 
&quot;The idea is to use the South China Sea as a place to save lives, but not to kill people or to destroy lives,&quot; he added. 
 
China&#39;s 2012 seizure of the Scarborough Shoal, denying Philippine fishermen access, was among the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration. 
 
But China has ignored the court&#39;s ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. 
 
&#39;First concrete step&#39; 
 
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits. 
 
Ramos, 88, who described his role as an &quot;icebreaker&quot;, is known for an impromptu duet of Elvis Presley&#39;s &#39;Love Me Tender&#39; with former Chinese president Jiang Zemin at a 1996 banquet. 
 
His trip represents &quot;the first concrete step&quot; in engagement for both sides and &quot;could open a new chapter in settling disputes&quot;, China&#39;s state news agency, Xinhua, said in a commentary. 
 
Ramos was Philippines president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef. 
 
(Reuters)

After the Hague ruling, the former president's visit is being viewed as an opportunity to open a new chapter in settling disputes with China

Former Philippines president Fidel Ramos today named the head of a Chinese government think-tank among the experts and officials he hoped to meet on a trip to rekindle ties with China soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea. On July 12, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there, infuriating China, which had dismissed the case. "I've always been a very optimistic person, always looking for the best results," Ramos told reporters in Hong Kong. "But of course that also depends on the attitude of the Chinese officials." No details of itinerary Ramos gave no details of his itinerary or of those he planned to meet, except for Wu Shicun, who heads the National Institute for South China Sea Studies think-tank, based on China's southern island of Hainan. Asked about others, such as China's former deputy minister for Foreign Affairs Fu Ying, Ramos said he did not know yet. "They all have links with Beijing, because some of them are already retired but elevated to the parliament as chairman of this and that committee." Ramos said he sought to improve economic and tourism links, such as by allowing "more fishing in the common fishing ground" of the Scarborough shoal in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. "The idea is to use the South China Sea as a place to save lives, but not to kill people or to destroy lives," he added. China's 2012 seizure of the Scarborough Shoal, denying Philippine fishermen access, was among the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration. But China has ignored the court's ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. 'First concrete step' China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits. Ramos, 88, who described his role as an "icebreaker", is known for an impromptu duet of Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' with former Chinese president Jiang Zemin at a 1996 banquet. His trip represents "the first concrete step" in engagement for both sides and "could open a new chapter in settling disputes", China's state news agency, Xinhua, said in a commentary. Ramos was Philippines president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef. (Reuters)

Philippines envoy Fidel Ramos "optimistic" about ice breaking China trip

Beijing will &quot;never&quot; stop building in the South China Sea prematurely, a top military official has vowed, despite an international ruling that its actions were illegal. 
 
The pushback came as China launched war games in waters in the strategically vital region, where diplomatic tensions are high. 
 
&quot;We will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway,&quot; Wu Shengli, the commander of the People&#39;s Liberation Army Navy, told US counterpart Admiral John Richardson, according to the official Xinhua news agency. 
 
Nansha is China&#39;s name for the Spratlys, where Beijing has rapidly turned reefs into artificial islands with facilities capable of military use, including extensive runways. 
 
The reef system has multiple claimants in the region. 
 
&quot;The Nansha Islands are China&#39;s inherent territory, and our necessary construction on the islands is reasonable, justified and lawful,&quot; Wu added. 
 
China dismissed Hague ruling as &#39;piece of waste paper&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague last week ruled that there was no legal basis for Beijing&#39;s claims to much of the South China Sea, embodied in a &quot;nine-dash line&quot; that dates from 1940s maps and stretches close to other countries&#39; coasts. 
 
Its extensive decision also said that China&#39;s construction on Mischief Reef had &quot;violated the Philippines&#39; sovereign rights with respect to its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf&quot;. 
 
Manila -- which lodged the suit against Beijing -- welcomed the decision but China dismissed it as a &quot;piece of waste paper&quot;. 
 
Wu said Beijing would not be intimated over the issue, adding: &quot;Any attempt to force China to give in through flexing military muscles will only have the opposite effect.&quot; 
 
Despite Chinese objections, the European Union weighed in on the subject at a regional summit last weekend, with President Donald Tusk telling reporters the bloc &quot;will continue to speak out in support of upholding international law&quot;, adding that it had &quot;full confidence&quot; in the PCA and its decisions. 
 
China pressured countries in the ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian nations not to issue a joint statement on the ruling, diplomats said. 
 
The US, Japan and Australia, amongst others, have urged Beijing to fall into line and respect the tribunal&#39;s ruling. 
 
&#39;Flexing military muscles&#39;&nbsp; 
 
An area off the east coast of China&#39;s island province of Hainan will host military exercises from Tuesday to Thursday, China&#39;s maritime administration said on its website, adding that entrance was &quot;prohibited&quot;. 
 
The area of sea identified is some distance from the Paracel islands and even further from the Spratlys. 
 
Beijing held military drills in the South China Sea just days before the international arbitration court ruling, state media reported. 
 
A combat air patrol was mounted over the sea recently and these would become a regular practice in future, an air force spokesman said separately. 
 
Bombers, fighters and other aircraft were sent to patrol islands and reefs including Huangyan Dao -- the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal -- spokesman Shen Jinke was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying. 
 
Scarborough Shoal is disputed with the Philippines and is seen as a particular flashpoint. 
 
In a separate message on its website, the maritime administration said last week that four out of five lighthouses built atop islands and reefs in the sea have been activated, and a fifth would be put into use soon. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

The pushback came as China launched war games in waters in the strategically vital region, where diplomatic tensions are high

Beijing will "never" stop building in the South China Sea prematurely, a top military official has vowed, despite an international ruling that its actions were illegal. The pushback came as China launched war games in waters in the strategically vital region, where diplomatic tensions are high. "We will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway," Wu Shengli, the commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy, told US counterpart Admiral John Richardson, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Nansha is China's name for the Spratlys, where Beijing has rapidly turned reefs into artificial islands with facilities capable of military use, including extensive runways. The reef system has multiple claimants in the region. "The Nansha Islands are China's inherent territory, and our necessary construction on the islands is reasonable, justified and lawful," Wu added. China dismissed Hague ruling as 'piece of waste paper' The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague last week ruled that there was no legal basis for Beijing's claims to much of the South China Sea, embodied in a "nine-dash line" that dates from 1940s maps and stretches close to other countries' coasts. Its extensive decision also said that China's construction on Mischief Reef had "violated the Philippines' sovereign rights with respect to its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf". Manila -- which lodged the suit against Beijing -- welcomed the decision but China dismissed it as a "piece of waste paper". Wu said Beijing would not be intimated over the issue, adding: "Any attempt to force China to give in through flexing military muscles will only have the opposite effect." Despite Chinese objections, the European Union weighed in on the subject at a regional summit last weekend, with President Donald Tusk telling reporters the bloc "will continue to speak out in support of upholding international law", adding that it had "full confidence" in the PCA and its decisions. China pressured countries in the ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian nations not to issue a joint statement on the ruling, diplomats said. The US, Japan and Australia, amongst others, have urged Beijing to fall into line and respect the tribunal's ruling. 'Flexing military muscles' An area off the east coast of China's island province of Hainan will host military exercises from Tuesday to Thursday, China's maritime administration said on its website, adding that entrance was "prohibited". The area of sea identified is some distance from the Paracel islands and even further from the Spratlys. Beijing held military drills in the South China Sea just days before the international arbitration court ruling, state media reported. A combat air patrol was mounted over the sea recently and these would become a regular practice in future, an air force spokesman said separately. Bombers, fighters and other aircraft were sent to patrol islands and reefs including Huangyan Dao -- the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal -- spokesman Shen Jinke was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying. Scarborough Shoal is disputed with the Philippines and is seen as a particular flashpoint. In a separate message on its website, the maritime administration said last week that four out of five lighthouses built atop islands and reefs in the sea have been activated, and a fifth would be put into use soon. (AFP)

Despite Hague ruling, Beijing vows to continue South China Sea construction

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