The United States announced sanctions and restrictions on 24 Chinese companies and associated officials on Wednesday for taking part in building artificial islands in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
"Since 2013, the PRC has used its state-owned enterprises to dredge and reclaim more than 3,000 acres on disputed features in the South China Sea, destabilizing the region, trampling on the sovereign rights of its neighbors, and causing untold environmental devastation," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
It comes as the Philippines' foreign minister said on Wednesday that the United States military presence in Asia is needed as the rivalry between Washington and Beijing intensifies.
The two powers are arguing over issues from trade to what the United States sees as aggressive moves by China's armed forces, especially in the disputed South China Sea and around Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
"We have a balance of power situation," Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said in an interview with ANC News Channel. "We need the US presence in Asia".
The United States has long opposed China's territorial claims on the South China Sea, regularly sending warships to demonstrate freedom of navigation there.
It hardened its position last month by rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, a move which China condemned.
Mr Locsin said it would be in the Philippine's interest for the the United States to maintain its military presence in the region and he reiterated the country "never stopped cooperation" with its long-time security ally.
In June, President Rodrigo Duterte suspended his decision to scrap a two-decade-old troop deployment agreement with the United States that has given the Philippines access to scores of annual training exercises, including expertise in tackling Islamist militants and maritime threats.
The US military also formerly had two huge military bases in the Philippines - Subic Bay and Clark - but was evicted from them in 1992.
The two countries revived close ties from 2000 with war games, frequent visits and by helping against communist and Muslim insurgents.
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
