China conducts own drills in South China Sea

This photo taken on February 16, 2024 shows a rigid hull inflatable boat leaving a Chinese coast guard vessel near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippines on February 17 accused Chinese coast guard vessels of “dangerous” manoeuvres for attempting to block a Filipino vessel dropping supplies to fishermen at a reef off the Southeast Asian nation’s coast. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command said it was organizing “joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea.”

“All military activities that mess up the situation in the South China Sea and create hot spots are under control,” it said in a statement, in an apparent swipe at the other drills being held in the waters.Further details about Chinese military activities in the waterway on Sunday were not announced.

The exercises take place days before US President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan.

US commitment

Top US officials have repeatedly declared the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines against an armed attack in the South China Sea—to the consternation of Beijing.

China claims territorial sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea and has been increasingly assertive in the region in recent years.

China’s Coast Guard said on Saturday it had “handled” a situation on Thursday at a disputed reef where several ships from the Philippines were engaged in “illegal” operations.

READ: 4-nation naval drills set today: For ‘a free, open Indo-Pacific’

“Under the guise of ‘protecting fishing,’ Philippine government ships have illegally violated and provoked, organized media to deliberately incite and mislead, continuing to undermine stability in the South China Sea,” spokesperson Gan Yu said.

“We are telling the Philippines that any infringement tactics are in vain,” Gan said, adding that China would “regularly enforce the law in waters under [its] jurisdiction.”

Beijing has brushed aside competing territorial claims by several Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea—a crucial route for global trade—as well as an international arbitral ruling that declared its stance baseless.

Freedom of navigation

The drills conducted on Sunday by the Philippines, United States, Japan and Australia are intended to “[ensure] that all countries are free to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a joint statement.

Named the “maritime cooperative activity,” the drills will include naval and air force units from all four countries, the statement said.

There were no details in the statement on what the drills would precisely include.

But the Japanese Embassy in Manila said in its statement that “antisubmarine warfare training” would be included in the drills.

Last week, Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived in Palawan province, which faces the hotly contested waters.

President Marcos issued a strongly worded statement on March 28, vowing the country would not be “cowed into silence, submission or subservience” by China.

Talks between the Philippines and Japan for a defense pact that would allow the countries to deploy troops on each other’s territory were “still ongoing,” a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs told reporters last week.

Manila already has a similar agreement with Australia and the United States. —REPORTS FROM AFP AND FRANCES MANGOSING INQ