Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea

BANGKOK (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

On his first trip to Asia as secretary of defense, Jim Mattis ruled out a military response to China's assertiveness in the South China Sea but promised to continue with freedom of navigation operations to oppose Beijing's occupation of disputed islands.

Mattis also explicitly stated that the Trump administration will stick to the previous U.S. stance that the U.S.-Japan security treaty applies to defending Japan's continued administration of the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which are contested by China and also known as the Diaoyu.

In an editorial, the ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper Global Times called Mattis' statement on the South China Sea a "mind-soothing pill."

The prospect of a military confrontation between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea was raised by President Donald Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon when he hosted the conservative Breitbart News Daily radio show in 2015 and 2016, according to USA Today, which reviewed audio recordings.

Duterte expressed concern last week that his country may get entangled in any U.S.-China conflict, and put Washington on notice that he won't allow any storage of lethal weapons in facilities operated by the U.S. military inside Philippine army camps.

A 2014 defense agreement, which was criticized by China, allows U.S. forces to preposition troops and equipment in five Philippine army bases close to the South China Sea.