China on Wednesday conducted a combat patrol to assess “strike capabilities” near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, a contentious area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Despite an international tribunal ruling that China’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea lacks legal basis, Beijing continues to assert its dominance.
Scarborough Shoal, situated 240 kilometers (150 miles) west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan, is also known as Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines.
In 2012, China used coastguard vessels to take control of the shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks within a rich fishing ground historically used by Filipino fishermen as a safe harbor.
On Wednesday, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command announced it had “organized a joint combat patrol in the sea and air space” near Scarborough Shoal.
These maneuvers tested “the reconnaissance and early warning, rapid mobility, and joint strike capabilities of theater troops,” according to Beijing.
China frequently uses its coast guard to assert its claims in the South China Sea. While Chinese military presence near Scarborough Shoal isn’t new, one analyst noted Wednesday’s action as increasingly “aggressive and forceful.”
“It’s meant to intimidate,” said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Manila-based Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea. “It’s definitely meant to send a message, a show of force,” he added.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office, stated they had not detected any exercise or combat patrols.
“Initial reports from the ground indicate no trace of Chinese military activity in the area of Bajo de Masinloc (BDM) as of August 7, 2024. Aside from the usual illegal encroachment and presence of Chinese maritime militia vessels, we have not monitored any purported exercise or combat patrols,” he said.
However, Trinidad confirmed the presence of three PLA Navy vessels—PLA-Navy WUZHOU (FSG 626) Jiangdao II Class Corvette, PLA-Navy HUANGSHAN (FFG 570) Jiankai II Class Corvette, and PLA-Navy QUJING (FSG 668) Jiangdao II Class Corvette—that shadowed the ongoing Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity involving the Philippines, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
“Nevertheless, the safety of our personnel and the overall conduct of the MMCA remains an utmost priority,” he added.
Trinidad also mentioned that the most recent Chinese exercise in the northern part of the South China Sea took place from July 31 to August 2, outside the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The AFP, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard and other agencies, will continue monitoring the situation as part of its mandate to protect the country’s territory, sovereignty, and sovereign rights based on international law.
Recent months have seen a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, including around the contested Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) in the Spratly Islands.
In one of the most serious incidents in June, Chinese sailors armed with weapons including knives and an axe boarded Philippine naval vessels near the strategic reef. A Philippine sailor lost a thumb in the confrontation, during which China’s coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment, including guns.
Beijing blames Manila for the escalation and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.
In recent weeks, the Philippines and China agreed on a “provisional arrangement” for resupplying Filipino troops stationed on Second Thomas Shoal and to increase communication lines to resolve disputes in the area.
Last month, the United States pledged $500 million in additional military funding to the Philippines to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness. In response, Beijing warned that “wooing countries from outside the region to provoke confrontation… will only undermine regional stability and aggravate tensions,” adding that such investments “will only lead to greater insecurity” for Manila.
Also on Wednesday, the Philippines commenced two days of joint sea and air exercises with the United States, Canada, and Australia, according to a joint statement. A Manila military spokesman informed AFP that the drills were occurring in the “West Philippine Sea,” the term used by the Philippines for areas within its territory.