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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gave tacit backing to the Philippines' stance in a tense maritime dispute with China on Thursday, saying that all countries had a right to seek arbitration to resolve competing territorial claims. The Philippines, a U.S. ally, has angered China by launching an arbitration case with the United Nations to challenge the legal validity of Beijing's sweeping claims over the resource-rich South China Sea. The United States has refrained from taking sides in the dispute, one of Asia's biggest security headaches, but has expressed a national interest in freedom of navigation...

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has cancelled a planned trip to China on Beijing's request, officials say. His decision came after China said Mr Aquino should visit "at a more conducive time", a spokesman from the Philippine foreign ministry said. Mr Aquino had said on Wednesday that he would attend a trade expo in Nanning. Tensions between the two countries have been high since a stand-off at Scarborough Shoal, which both claim, in the South China Sea last year. China's foreign ministry, however, told Reuters news agency that "China never extended an invitation to the Philippine president". It did not elaborate...

The Filipino woman who was sentenced to die for carrying six kilos of heroin into China will be executed anytime today, according to Vice President Jejomar Binay. The condemned woman’s family talked to her for the last time on Monday, although they were not informed that she will be put to death today. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Filipino consul-general in China expects the sentence to be carried out between now and July 3. China’s Supreme People’s Court upheld the decision of a lower court against the 35-year-old woman. The Chinese criminal code states that bringing in...

MANILA, Philippines - Writing a commentary in China's state press agency, Xinhua news analyst Lu Yu saw the Philippines under President Benigno Aquino III a bad hat in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. "The Philippines, under its current administration, has been a true troublemaker in the region," Lu said, complaining that the country has "assaulted and detained" Chinese fishermen and had an old warship "stranded on purpose" at Ren'ai Reef or the Second Thomas Shoal. Related story: Chinese ship runs aground in Tubbataha The remark was published Monday following Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario's pronouncements on...