China Holds South China Sea Drills Near Scarborough Shoal After US-Led Exercises
China’s military conducted joint air and naval combat exercises around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, days after the United States, Japan and the Philippines completed trilateral maritime drills in the same region, underscoring escalating strategic competition over one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said the exercises were carried out to test combat readiness and safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights. Beijing said the drills responded to actions by “certain countries” that it claimed were undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea, although it did not identify any country by name.
The latest military activity comes as rival claimants continue to strengthen their presence around Scarborough Shoal, a disputed reef claimed by both China and the Philippines. The overlapping deployments highlight growing strategic competition involving regional allies and the United States while diplomatic efforts to establish a binding South China Sea code of conduct remain unresolved.
PLA launches combat drills after allied naval exercises
According to the PLA Southern Theater Command, Chinese naval and air forces conducted coordinated combat patrols and military exercises around Scarborough Shoal to improve operational readiness and strengthen maritime defense capabilities. The military said the drills were intended to protect China’s sovereignty and maritime interests.
The exercises followed trilateral maritime operations involving the United States, Japan and the Philippines, which were conducted to promote freedom of navigation, maritime security and regional stability. The USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group also continued operations in the South China Sea during the same period, with the U.S. Navy stating that its deployment supports lawful freedom of navigation and challenges excessive maritime claims consistent with international law.
Chinese authorities also monitored separate U.S.-Philippine maritime exercises near Scarborough Shoal, reflecting the increasingly frequent encounters between military forces operating in contested waters.
Beijing establishes Scarborough Shoal nature reserve
Alongside the military exercises, China announced the establishment of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve, using Beijing’s official name for Scarborough Shoal.
The designation prohibits unauthorized fishing, coral extraction, mining, giant clam harvesting and other activities considered harmful to the marine ecosystem. Chinese authorities said violations would be subject to legal enforcement under domestic law.
The announcement follows China’s rejection of the Philippines’ submission to the United Nations establishing maritime baselines around Scarborough Shoal. China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that “Huangyan Dao is China’s inherent territory,” reaffirming Beijing’s sovereignty claim over the disputed feature.
The Philippine government had not publicly responded to the new nature reserve designation at the time of reporting.
Military rivalry extends beyond territorial claims
The latest developments illustrate how competing sovereignty claims increasingly overlap with military operations, maritime law enforcement and administrative measures.
By applying domestic environmental regulations to the disputed area, China has expanded the legal framework through which it may regulate fishing and other maritime activities near Scarborough Shoal. The move adds another layer to an already complex dispute involving overlapping territorial claims and competing interpretations of international maritime law.
Meanwhile, the United States has continued to support freedom of navigation operations and joint exercises with regional allies, while the Philippines has strengthened defense cooperation with Washington and Tokyo amid recurring maritime confrontations with Chinese vessels.
Illegal fishing concerns grow alongside security tensions
The territorial dispute is also affecting commercial fishing operations across one of the world’s richest fishing grounds.
According to SeafoodSource, continued tensions between China and the Philippines have increased concerns about illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as overlapping maritime claims complicate enforcement and create opportunities for unauthorized fishing activities.
Industry observers note that disputed jurisdiction can make monitoring more difficult for enforcement agencies while increasing uncertainty for licensed commercial fishing operators. The South China Sea remains one of the world’s most productive fisheries, making stability in the region important for both regional food security and international seafood markets.
ASEAN code of conduct negotiations remain unresolved
The latest military activity also highlights the slow progress of regional diplomatic efforts.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have spent more than two decades negotiating a legally binding Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, but no final agreement has been concluded. Continued military deployments by China, the United States and regional allies have increased the strategic significance of disputed features such as Scarborough Shoal.
China maintains that the latest exercises were defensive and intended to safeguard national sovereignty, while the United States defends saying their operations are for supporting international law and freedom of navigation.
With no binding dispute-resolution mechanism in place and negotiations on an ASEAN-China code of conduct still incomplete, military activity around Scarborough Shoal is likely to remain a recurring feature of the broader strategic competition in the South China Sea.
