China conducted joint naval and air military drills near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday amid escalating territorial tensions with the Philippines. The exercises, described by state broadcaster CCTV as a test of the army's ability to coordinate air and sea operations and provide rapid reinforcements, occurred as Beijing criticized Manila's recent efforts to extend its seabed rights in the region.
The Philippines had earlier this week presented its bid to the United Nations to include the shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, within its seabed territory. China claims nearly the entirety of the South China Sea, a critical global trade route believed to hold significant undersea deposits of gas and oil.
The People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command issued a statement declaring the Philippines' designated territorial sea baselines for Huangyan Dao as "illegal and invalid." Concurrently, China released new regulations for a nature reserve established around the shoal last year, which prohibit unauthorized fishing, mining, and coral harvesting.
Confrontations between Chinese coast guards and Philippine sailors and fishermen are frequent in the disputed waters. At least three such incidents were reported last week, with the Philippine military alleging that a Chinese coast guard member wounded a Filipino sailor by striking him with a baton.