China performs naval and aerial exercises near atoll disputed with Philippines

Um Army statement indicated that the atoll exercise, known as Huangyan Dao in China, constitutes a “operation necessary in response to the actions of certain countries that undermined regional peace and stability”.

The text also pointed out that the objective of the operation is to strengthen the fighting capacity to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and its maritime rights and interests.

China and the Philippines maintain a prolonged dispute over the sovereignty of several islands and reefs in the South China Sea, an important commercial route that also houses extensive fishing resources and potential oil and gas reserves.

Beijing claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea through a delimitation known as the “line of the nine traits”, which overlaps areas claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Tensions have intensified since the entry into power in 2022 by Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose government strengthened the alliance with the United States and adopted a firmer position in the face of Chinese territorial claims.

On September 18, the two countries exchanged charges after the collision between a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and a Filipino vessel in the South China Sea, with Manila reporting a deliberate collision.

The incident occurred near the Sabina reef, known in China as Xianbin Jiao and the Philippines as Shoal Escoda, in a zone disputed by both countries.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the clash took place within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, about 54 nautical miles (100 km) off the coast of Palawan province in the west of the archipelago.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela accused the Chinese vessel of carrying out several “dangerous maneuvers”, approaching less than ten metres from the Philippine ship before hitting it.

The vessel, belonging to the Philippine Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Office, was in the area providing fuel support to Filipino fishermen, according to Manila.

Recent clashes have also taken place elsewhere in the South China Sea, including Beijing's criticism of sending a refueling ship to Second Thomas reef, where Manila has been holding a stranded vessel since 1999.

In 2016, an arbitration tribunal established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concluded that Chinese claims for historical rights on waters covered by the “line of the nine traits” had no legal basis.

Beijing rejected the decision.