China Conducts Naval And Air Drills Near Disputed South China Sea Shoal

The Chinese military said it carried out joint naval and air exercises around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday, intensifying Beijing's military presence in one of the region's most contested maritime flashpoints.

China's Southern Theater Command said the exercises involved naval vessels, combat aircraft and routine combat-readiness patrols near the shoal, which Beijing calls Huangyan Dao. The military said the drills were intended to safeguard China's sovereignty and maritime rights in the area.

Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc, lies about 230 kilometers west of Luzon, well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone under international maritime law. China seized effective control of the shoal in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine vessels and has maintained a constant coast guard and maritime militia presence there since.

The latest exercises come amid renewed friction between Beijing and Manila over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Philippine authorities have repeatedly accused Chinese coast guard ships of blocking fishing vessels, using water cannons against Philippine patrol boats and conducting dangerous maneuvers near disputed reefs and shoals.

The South China Sea has become a major geopolitical hotspot because it carries an estimated one-third of global maritime trade and is believed to contain significant fishing grounds and untapped oil and natural gas reserves. China claims sovereignty over most of the waterway through its so-called“nine-dash line,” a claim also contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

A landmark ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016 rejected China's expansive maritime claims, concluding they had no legal basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling and continues military patrols and infrastructure development across disputed areas.

The Philippines has strengthened defense cooperation with the United States, Japan and Australia in response to China's growing military activity. U.S. officials have repeatedly said Washington's mutual defense treaty with Manila applies to armed attacks on Philippine forces operating in the South China Sea.

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