South China Sea tensions escalating

The Philippines has invited foreign investors to explore 15 petroleum blocks in the disputed South China/Western Phlippine Sea. 38 companies have already lined up to place bids on contracts.
Needless to say, Beijing isn't happy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that "it is illegal for any country, government or company, without the Chinese government's permission, to develop oil and natural gas in waters under Chinese jurisdiction," China Daily reports.

But the Philippines maintains that all of the 15 areas are within Philippine territory.
-United Press International

Two of the petroleum blocks to be exploited are near Reed Bank, where Chinese warships threatened to ram a Philippine survey vessel last year, setting off the current round of tension in the resource-rich region.

China claims Asia

The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily has warned its Asian neighbors to be on guard against the “danger” of feeling they can “do whatever they want” in the region because of the financial support and physical presence of Uncle Sam.

The U.S. set off China’s ire in 2010 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at a regional summit in Hanoi, called resolving the competing claims to the sea “a leading diplomatic priority.” That drew a rebuke from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who said internationalizing the incident with U.S. involvement “can only make matters worse and more difficult to solve.”
-Bloomberg

Basically, in response to a US military spending spree in region, the China has claimed Southeast Asia as its bitches.

Philippine Air Force sucks

This isn't really news, but the Philippine Air Force is totally incapable of defending the Philippines.

MANILA - More than three-quarters of Philippine military aircraft are not fit to fly - hampering the country's ability to protect its airspace and territorial waters, the air force said on Sept. 10.

Air force spokesman Miguel Ernesto Okol said the military fleet was in dire straits, backing up a 2010 government audit that found only 91 of the 393 aircraft were "full mission capable".
-Defense News

The Philippine Air Force is composed of several-decades-old hand-me-downs from Uncle Sam (think Korean War-era hunks of junk). In general, the Philippine military is only capable of counter-insurgency (think torturing peasants).
The country has historically just relied on its neo-colonial relationship with the United States for defense, and that has been sufficient. However, now that tensions in the South China Sea have the government talking diplomacy with China, the hawks feel compelled to point out the historically obvious: the Philippines can't fight a war against an external enemy by themselves.
Duh. That's why Manila is talking peace, and that's exactly why Washington DC is talking war. If the Philippines (and other ASEAN nations) really do negotiate treaties with China, there would be less need for half-a-century-old hand-me-downs, and less need for a declining empire as a bodyguard.

Our fleet is so much bigger than yours

So a week after China debuted it's very first aircraft carrier ever, the United States sent one of its own carriers to the coast of Vietnam, where leaders from that country got a ride and an airshow. This was the second visit in as many years for the USS George Washington.
Apparently the two countries are over that whole 'war' thing.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, which the U.S. has said it has a national interest in making sure freedom of navigation continues in an area home to vital shipping lanes.

Vietnam, the Philippines and several other Asian nations also stake claims to all or part of areas of the sea believed to be potentially rich in national resources. Both counties have looked to the U.S. following recent blow-ups with China over their oil exploration activities. Beijing denies it has interfered, but Hanoi and Manila have accused the communist giant of overstepping its bounds.

Hanoi has reacted sharply, holding live-fire drills in the South China Sea and allowing rare protests to be held for more than two months.
-Inquirer

The carrier arrived from Thailand, where it had partied.

George Washington's mission is to ensure security and stability in the 7th Fleet AOR and to be in position to work with our allies and regional partners to respond to any crisis across the operational spectrum as directed.
-Commander, US 7th Fleet

Asia settles South China Sea tension

With Hillary Clinton coming to town, ASEAN nations were able to get China to agree to a draft of a "South China Sea" dispute agreement that focuses on bi-lateral dispute resolution.

China's acquiescence to the draft agreement – which ends more than a decade of deadlock and brings the countries closer to a final, legally binding code of conduct – was likely spurred by a desire to get the issue off the table before Clinton's arrival Thursday night at the ASEAN summit in Bali, Reuters reports.
-Christian Science Monitor

Parts of the disputed territory, which sees 1/3 of all global shipping pass through it, are claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia. The area is also rich in oil and natural gas.

China is open to an agreement that excludes US meddling, but still refuses to acknowledge other countries' territorial claims. The Philippines is hesitant to square off against China in a bilateral disagreement without their big brother/bully from across the Pacific.
In essence, nothing has happened other than a promise amongst ASEAN nations to handle things in house, without Hillary being invited into the dialogue.