China stages military drills near contested South China Sea shoal
In this photo provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Public Information Office (PAO), a China Coast Guard Vessel conducts apparent water cannon drill close to long-grounded Philippine warship BRP. . .
In this photo provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Public Information Office (PAO), a China Coast Guard Vessel conducts apparent water cannon drill close to long-grounded Philippine warship BRP Sierra Madre in the vicinity of Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea on Wednesday August 20, 2025. (Armed Forces of the Philippines PAO via AP)BEIJING —Chinacarried out joint naval and air exercises near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday, as tensions with the Philippines over competing territorial claims continue to rise. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the drills, conducted near the shoal—known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines—were aimed at testing the military’s capability to coordinate air and maritime operations and rapidly deploy reinforcements. The drills came after Beijing criticized Manila’s attempts to extend its seabed rights in the South China Sea, a vital global trade route with rich undersea deposits of gas and oil that China claims almost in its entirety. READ:China summons Philippine envoy over West Philippine Sea clashThe Philippines earlier this weekpresented its bid to the United Nationsto extent its seabed to include the disputed shoal. “The so-called territorial sea baselines of Huangyan Dao designated by the Philippine side are illegal and invalid,” the People Liberation’s Army Southern Theater Command said in a statement. China also on Saturday released a set of rules for a nature reserve it established last year around Scarborough Shoal. The regulations ban unauthorized fishing, mining and harvesting of corals. Chinese coast guards frequently face off with Philippine sailors and fishermen in the disputed waters. Last week, at least three such confrontations occurred. In one of the incidents, the Chinese coast guard allegedly wounded a Philippine sailor by striking him in the head with a baton, according to the Philippine military. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. Read NextDisclaimer:The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.