The U.S. military would face immense challenges treating the volume of casualties and moving them to medical centers far from the front lines in a conflict with China.

The country has been gradually expanding military cooperation with the U.S., Japan, and Beijing-claimed Taiwan.

Despite proclaiming a “one China” policy, Manila has been moving toward greater economic and security cooperation with Taipei.

A tropical storm is intensifying and is expected to reach typhoon strength before hitting southern China's coast on Sunday.

Manila’s significant shift could pave the way for the Philippines, an American treaty ally, to play a bigger role in regional defense if China invades Taiwan.

The arrests suggest a new front in China’s long campaign to press the Philippines, America’s oldest military ally in South-East Asia, to come into the Chinese orbit. For years, confrontation has played out on the South China Sea,

China’s Education Ministry has issued a safety warning for Chinese students in the Philippines, following what it describes as a series of criminal incidents targeting Chinese nationals.

The deployment of the Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, system in the region has repeatedly irritated China. The US sees it as a key capability.