As Jakarta deepens military and coastguard cooperation while rejecting Beijing's sweeping claims, can it maintain a precarious equilibrium? Indonesia is walking a fine line between bolstering ties with Beijing and preserving its long-standing non-aligned stance.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio exchanged views on maritime security in the South China Sea.

The two countries on Thursday held a 10th round of talks under a bilateral consultation mechanism set up to address issues in the South China Sea, where disputes have been frequent and tense, with ties at their lowest point in years.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday met virtually with his counterparts from Japan and the Philippines to advance cooperation among the three countries, the White House said.

The protest stems from the presence of two coast guard vessels on Jan. 5 and Jan. 10 in and around the disputed Scarborough shoal, one of which was a 165 m (541ft) long boat referred to by the Philippines as "the monster".

A Philippine security official says China is “pushing us to the wall” with growing aggression in the disputed South China Sea and warned that “all options are on the table” for Manila’s response, including new international lawsuits.

The Philippine government launched a comic book Friday asserting its claims in the disputed South China Sea, amid rising tensions with Beijing over the strategic waterway.China claims most of the South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling it without basis,

The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China's sweeping claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea had no basis under international law. It now wants to hold Beijing accountable for what it says is its harvesting of giant clams and substantial environmental damage to coral reefs in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.