Beijing, Manila and allies, launch drills near South China Sea flashpoint

Chinese military buzzes contested Scarborough Shoal, as Philippines runs war games with US and other Western allies.

China’s military has launched military drills near a territory in the South China Sea over which it contests sovereignty with the Philippines.

The Southern Theatre Command said on Wednesday that it had carried out air and sea combat patrols “near Huangyan Island” – the Chinese name for the Scarborough Shoal – to test “strike capabilities”. The exercises appear to be a response to same-day military manoeuvres by the United States, Australia, Canada and the Philippines.

The Chinese manoeuvres tested the reconnaissance and early warning capabilities of its troops, Beijing said.

“All military activities that disrupt the South China Sea, create hotspots, and undermine regional peace and stability are all being controlled to the best extent,” it noted.

In a joint statement, military chiefs from the US, Australia, Canada and the Philippines said they “stand together to address common maritime challenges and underscore our shared dedication to upholding international law and the rules-based order”. They said the two-day exercises were being held to uphold unhindered passage in the Asia Pacific region.

Standoff

Beijing and Manila have been locked in a tense standoff in recent months, as China continues to press claims to almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Scarborough Shoal is 240km (150 miles) west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900km (560 miles) from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

In 2012, China deployed coastguard vessels to seize control of the shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks that form part of a rich fishing ground, which had long served as a safe harbour for Filipino fishermen.

Confrontations have also been focused around a warship grounded for years by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal.

In June, Chinese coastguards armed with knives and axes boarded Philippine naval vessels near the strategic reef with one sailor losing a thumb and Philippine equipment seized or destroyed.

Beijing blamed the escalation on Manila and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.

Last month, the US said it would provide $500m in additional military funding to the Philippines to combat Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Beijing said in response that “wooing countries from outside the region to provoke confrontation… will only undermine regional stability and aggravate tensions”.

The investment “will only lead to greater insecurity” for Manila, it warned.

In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been locked in separate but increasingly tense territorial disputes in the waterway, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the US-China regional rivalry.

The US military has deployed navy ships and fighter jets for decades in what it calls freedom of navigation and overnight patrols, which China has opposed and regards as a threat to regional stability.