Beijing [China], February 1 China has conducted "combat readiness" patrols in the maritime and aerial areas around Huangyan Dao, which the Chinese call the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, Chinese state media reported on Sunday.
The development comes on the heels of a joint US-Philippine drill in the area.
China's People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command said in a statement that since the beginning of January, it has organised naval and air forces to step up patrols in the waters and airspace surrounding the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao, and resolutely countered "infringement and provocative actions by individual countries in the region", Xinhua reported.
"The move is aimed at resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty and security, and upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea region," the PLA command was cited as saying by Xinhua.
State-run media outlet Global Times reported that the patrols involved an H-6K bomber armed with YJ-12 anti-ship missiles and the Type 055 large destroyer Xianyang, among other PLA warplanes and warships.
A day earlier, the Chinese coast guard had said that it had conducted law enforcement patrols over the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas "in accordance with the law and resolutely safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."
The Philippine news agency had previously reported that the country's armed forces and the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) conducted the 11th bilateral maritime cooperative activity (MCA) in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea on January 25-26.
The Philippines Armed Forces deployed guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna and Air Force FA-50PH fighter jets, along with an A-29 "Super Tucano" aircraft, and an AW-109 helicopter. Also sent from the Philippine side was the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Gabriela Silang. Meanwhile, the USINDOPACOM fielded guided missile destroyer USS John Finn and an MH-60R "Seahawk" helicopter.
Chinese defence ministry spokesman has accused Manila of using the drill as a pretext to carry out "infringements and provocations".
"The Philippines, under the pretext of conducting military exercises, seeks to encroach upon [the shoal] and provoke, deliberately stoking maritime tensions," the spokesperson
Manila and Beijing have been embroiled in maritime confrontations in recent years, with the Philippines accusing China of aggressive manoeuvres, water cannon incidents, and disruption of supply missions in the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Meanwhile, Beijing continues to assert sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines' EEZ, according to Philippine state media reports.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was ratified in the year 1996, and in 201,6 the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague found China's 'nine-dash line' claims to be invalid.
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