China is putting ever greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

The Philippines, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has enacted two new maritime laws designed to safeguard the nation’s contested territory in the South China Sea, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.

The Philippines has consistently sought to make waves regarding the South China Sea issue. The two-week combat drills initiated by the Philippine military on Monday, which include exercises aim at seizing an island in the South China Sea,

Philippine President Marcos passed two maritime laws last week in a move that Manila says will strengthen its sovereignty over waters within the country’s archipelago and the South China Sea. Using standards set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

China is putting ever-greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

The Philippines has no expectations about what President-elect Donald Trump will do regarding territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday during a visit to Australian capital Canberra.