Beijing and Manila are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where confrontations have escalated in recent months. China claims nearly all of the resource-rich waters, but the Philippines has taken a more assertive stance under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Aside from the prospect of Northern Luzon getting embroiled in a potential armed confrontation between China and Taiwan, the Philippines also has to deal with another source of tension at sea – Beijing’s possible enforcement beginning June 15 of a “maritime regulation” detaining for 60 days without trial foreign “trespassers” in its territorial waters.