China’s naval and air forces conducted patrols near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday, following a series of tense encounters with the Philippines in recent months.
The patrols coincided with joint military exercises involving the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Philippines, conducted within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, despite competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, and a 2016 international ruling dismissing Beijing’s claims as having no legal basis.
On Saturday, China’s Southern Theater Command confirmed that its military had carried out reconnaissance, early warning, and air-sea patrols around Scarborough Shoal, which was seized from the Philippines in 2012.
“Certain countries outside the region are stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, creating instability,” the Southern Theater Command said in a statement, reaffirming China’s “indisputable sovereignty” over the shoal and its adjacent waters, referring to it as Huangyan Island.
The United States, meanwhile, emphasized that its joint exercises with allies in the region underscored a shared commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Australia confirmed that its navy and air force also participated in exercises aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight.
Recent months have seen escalating tensions between China and the Philippines over disputed areas, including confrontations near Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal. In July, both nations reached a temporary agreement on resupply missions to a grounded Philippine ship, the Sierra Madre, stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.
On Friday, Beijing stated it had “supervised” a resupply mission by the Philippines to the grounded vessel as part of ongoing disputes over the shoal.