The U.S. Navy destroyer that sailed near Chinese-claimed islands in South China Sea last week was under orders from the Third Fleet headquarters in San Diego, a first aimed at bolstering U.S. maritime power in the region, two sources said.

The most senior U.S. diplomat for Asia has arrived in the Philippines and will meet the country's foreign minister on Monday amid confusion over the status of ties between the two long-time allies, said the U.S. embassy in Manila.

Representatives from the Vatican and China are expected to meet before the end of the month in Rome in an effort to finalize a deal on the ordination of bishops on the mainland, a move aimed at ending a longstanding dispute, according to Catholic Church sources familiar with the negotiations.

The Obama administration has few good options and limited leverage as it struggles to craft a response to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's increasingly hostile rhetoric towards the United States and his warm embrace of China.

China and the Philippines have agreed to resume a dialogue on their dispute over the South China Sea, a senior Chinese diplomat said Thursday following talks between the countries' leaders.

Three Chinese warships will dock Saturday at Vietnam’s strategic naval base at Cam Ranh Bay, three weeks after two U.S. naval vessels docked there for the first time since former wartime foes Hanoi and Washington normalized relations 21 years ago.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he hoped Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's "milestone" visit to China could help "fully improve" ties between the two countries, which have suffered over disputes in the South China Sea.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was meeting Thursday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing as part of a charm offensive aimed at seeking trade and support from the Asian giant by setting aside a thorny territorial dispute.

North Korea fired a missile that failed immediately after launch early on Thursday, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said, hours after the two countries agr

President Joko Widodo says he wants to keep this sprawling archipelago out of an intensifying great-power conflict in the South China Sea while he tries to revitalize ambitious economic plans that so far have fallen short.