China has yet to respond to the call, which includes payment for two damaged boats and the return of rifles seized during the June 17 stand-off The Philippine military chief has reiterated calls for Beijing to compensate for damages and return rifles seized during a violent confrontation in the disputed South China Sea that left a Filipino sailor with a severed thumb.

The Philippine military has opened two weeks of combat drills that will include seizing an island in the disputed South China Sea and likely be frowned upon by China.

China has rapidly expanded its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.