China holds military drills near disputed shoal in South China Sea

China conducted military drills near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday as territorial tensions with the Philippines intensify.

The joint naval and air drills near the shoal, which is known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, tested the army’s ability to coordinate air and sea operations and provide rapid reinforcements, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The drills came after Beijing criticised 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. The Philippines earlier this week presented its bid to the United Nations to extend 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’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre 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 unauthorised 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.