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.

Tensions have prevailed over aggressive Chinese assertions in the waters. Beijing's claims overlap with exclusive economic zones of several countries in the region, including Indonesia.

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.

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 regional bloc ASEAN and China should make headway on a protracted code of conduct for the South China Sea by tackling thorny "milestone issues", including its scope and if it can be legally binding,

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".