U.S. and Philippine fighter aircraft have staged a joint patrol and training over a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese fighter jets fired flares last year to drive away a Philippine aircraft

Air patrol exercise underscores Manila’s efforts to assert its maritime claims while testing US commitment to regional security, analysts say.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has offered to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called its “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the disputed South China Sea.