U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip to Central America, including Panama, is partially about countering China, a State Department spokesperson told Fox Business, as new President Donald Trump is pushing to "take back" the Panama Canal.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his first call with his Chinese counterpart, voiced "serious concern" Friday over Beijing's "coercive" moves on Taiwan and in the South China Sea, the State Department said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila and condemned Beijing for its "dangerous and destabilising" actions in the Sea, in his first phone call with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK and US were “working together” to improve the security of people in the two countries after speaking with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Mr Lammy said he spoke to Mr Rubio,

Such high-level communication includes a series of meetings held during Vice-President Han Zheng's trip to the US last week as Xi's special representative to attend Trump's inauguration ceremony. On Friday, Wang told Rubio the "two heads of state have pointed out the direction and set the tone for China-US relations".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has raised concerns over Beijing's coercion against Taiwan during a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Focus Taiwan reported, citing the US Department of State.

The Philippine coast guard says Chinese coast guard ships and a Chinese navy helicopter harassed a group of Philippine fisheries vessels conducting a scientific survey in a hotly disputed area of the South China Sea,

The new US Secretary of State, during his first phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, expressed concerns over Beijing's aggressive behavior towards Taiwan and in the South China Sea,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio encouraged Vietnam to address its trade imbalances with the US in a call with Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

New Secretary of State Marco Rubio told China's foreign minister on Friday that the U.S. would put the American people first and promote U.S. interests in its relationship with Beijing.

Taiwan stated that it detected six Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Monday till 6 am (local time) on Tuesday. Taiwanese MND said that their armed forces monitored the situation and responded accordingly.