China and Philippine have been locked in a standoff over disputed islands and reefs over the past few years. Manila deploys missions to supply a small garrison of troops living aboard an aging warship that was deliberately run aground in 1999 to protect its maritime claims.

Calling the division of the world between the US and China the biggest threat to the world, Emmanuel Macron said the two powers’ competition for global dominance presented others with impossible choices.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that division between the two superpowers, the United States and China, is the main risk currently confronting the world as he emphasised the need for building new coalitions between Paris and partners in the Indo-Pacific.