THE PHILIPPINES

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he trusted China would not build anything on a disputed South China Sea shoal because he was given its “word of honour” and Beijing would not want to jeopardise a new friendship. The remark came after acting Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo asked China to clarify its reported plans to build an environmental monitoring station on a disputed shoal. The Scarborough Shoal, off the northwestern Philippines, is at the heart of the territorial disputes between the countries.