Philippines ignores S China Sea proposal, says Beijing

BEIJING, Mar 13 (BBC): China says the Philippines ignored proposals it put forward to "manage" their dispute in the South China Sea. An unnamed senior Chinese official told news outlet the Manila Times that the deal was "met with inaction by the Marcos administration".

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said they did not reject the deal, but said it stood on a "questionable" premise. The South China Sea is at the centre of a territorial dispute between China, the Philippines and other countries.

But tensions between Manila and Beijing have sharply escalated in recent months. Routine missions to bring food and essentials to a handful of Filipino soldiers on the ship named Sierra Madre has resulted in encounters between the Philippine Coast Guard escorts and the China Coast Guard.