MANILA (Reuters) -Relations between Manila and Beijing have soured under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back towards the United States which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.

Maritime and aerial spats in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in the Indo-Pacific, will be a key talking point in high-level meetings between the U.

China and the Philippines asserted their respective claims to a new flashpoint in the South China Sea at a meeting of diplomats on Wednesday, even as they sought ways to dial down tensions.