Chinese warships and military aircraft conducted a show of force around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday amid growing tensions with the Philippines.
The Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command released a video of the action that were described as “combat readiness patrols” near Scarborough Shoal, that both China and Philippines claim as their territory.
The video said the shoal, which China calls Huangyan Dao, is China’s territory.
“The move is a response to provocations and aims to safeguard sovereignty and maintain stability in the South China Sea,” the command said of the drills.
The People’s Liberation Army command said naval and air forces have stepped up activities in the South China Sea in March with its forces conducting tracking, monitoring, warnings and expulsions.
“Such patrols serve as an effective countermeasure to cope with all sorts of rights-violation and provocative acts,” the command said.
The video of the exercises showed two Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigates, and J-15 jet fighters.
The fighters were shown flying near Scarborough shoal that lie within the Philippines exclusive economic zone west of the island of Palawan.
The strategic coral atoll has been controlled by China since 2012 when Chinese coast guard ships blocked Filipino fishing vessels from the areas.
The shoal remains a major flashpoint in maritime territorial disputes. Vietnam and Taiwan also claim it.
Recent maritime confrontations in the region have increased tensions as Manila accused Beijing of conducting dangerous maneuvers and firing water cannons at Philippines resupply missions in the waters.
The Chinese military maneuvers came a day after officials from China and Philippines held meetings in Quanzhou, on the Chinese coast, to discuss bilateral issues, including maritime disputes.
The meetings were held to set the stage for a meeting of the two nations’ foreign ministers sometime in the coming year.
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday that the talks were the first talks on the South China Sea since January 2025.
At a meeting to discuss maritime issues, the Philippines “raised concerns over incidents affecting the safety of Filipino personnel and fishermen, including actions that have disrupted lawful activities and posed risks at sea,” the statement said.
During the meeting, Philippine officials also invoked the 2016 ruling of an arbitral tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that stated China’s claim to 90% of the South China Sea was illegal.
Beijing has rejected the ruling and continues to claim most of the strategic waterway under a so-called “Nine-Dash Line” covering the main area of the sea as its maritime territory.
The ministry statement said both countries made progress on issues related to coast guard to coast guard communication, ocean meteorology, and early exchanges on potential oil and gas cooperation.
Tensions, however, remain high over activities around Scarborough Shoal.
On Friday, the Philippines military said a Chinese warship nearly collided with one of its warships near Thitu Island in the Spratlys that Manila calls Pag-asa Island.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, a military spokesman said the near collision was an alarming development because past encounters usually involved civilian vessels like the coast guard.
“It has happened in the past, but since it’s been a while since [we’ve had] warship-to-warship [encounters], this is already an escalation,” Adm. Trinidad told reporters.
A video released by the Western Command showed the Philippine Navy’s BRP Benguet successfully averting a potential collision after a PLA Jiangkai II frigate conducted a dangerous maneuver the island on Wednesday.
“What happened was a coercive and aggressive action conducted by a PLA Navy warship on one of our ’landing ship, tank’s or LST,” Adm. Trinidad said.
“Number Two, [it was] unprofessional and unsafe. Number Three, there’s no room for that in a civilized world.”
On March 7, a Philippine Coast Guard reconnaissance aircraft carrying journalists transited near Scarborough Shoal and was warned to clear out by PLA navy ships.
Then on March 16, the Philippines Defense Ministry issued a statement rejecting China’s claim to Scarborough Shoal. The ministry said in a statement that Bajo de Masinloc, its name for the shoal, is Philippines sovereign territory.
“Philippine operations in these waters are lawful, routine and conducted in the exercise of the country’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction under international law,” the statements.
The Philippine Coast Guard also announced plans to carry out more patrols in the South China Sea and to counter Chinese “bullying.”
To counter Chinese activities, Philippines is also stepping up cooperation with Japan in a bid to deter China in the South China Sea.
The cooperation includes the dispatch of the first Japanese combat troops to Philippines since World War II.
Hundreds of Japanese military personnel will join U.S. and Philippines forces in the latest military exercises called Balikatan that are set to begin April 20.
The dispatch of Japanese troops signals a major shift in regional security cooperation with the goal of bolstering regional deterrence in the South China Sea.
Chinese state media regularly denounces Japan growing regional military assertiveness as a return of “militarism” by Tokyo.
