7-4-2024 (BEIJING) Amidst escalating regional tensions, China conducted military “combat patrols” on Sunday in the disputed South China Sea, a move that comes on the same day as joint drills by the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and Australia in the contentious waters.
The announcement by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command comes a day after defence chiefs from four countries, including the Philippines, declared their intention to conduct joint exercises in the area on Sunday.
In a statement, the PLA Southern Theater Command stated that it was organizing “joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea.” The statement appeared to be a thinly veiled swipe at the other drills being held in the region, asserting that “All military activities that mess up the situation in the South China Sea and create hotspots are under control.”
Beijing, however, refrained from providing further details about the nature and scope of its military activities in the waterway on Sunday.
The exercises involving the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and Australia take place just days before US President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan. Top US officials have repeatedly declared the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines against an armed attack in the South China Sea, a stance that has drawn consternation from Beijing.
China claims territorial sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea and has been increasingly assertive in the region in recent years, brushing aside competing territorial claims by several Southeast Asian countries as well as an international ruling that declared its stance baseless.
The escalating tensions were further highlighted on Saturday when China’s Coast Guard said it had “handled” a situation on Thursday at a disputed reef where several ships from the Philippines were engaged in “illegal” operations.
“Under the guise of ‘protecting fishing’, Philippine government ships have illegally violated and provoked, organised media to deliberately incite and mislead, continuing to undermine stability in the South China Sea,” spokesman Gan Yu said, adding that China would “regularly enforce the law in waters under (its) jurisdiction.”
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,” according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a joint statement.
Named the “Maritime Cooperative Activity,” the drills will include naval and air force units from all four countries, although precise details on the exercises were not provided. The Japanese embassy in Manila stated that “anti-submarine warfare training” would be included in the drills.
Last week, the Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived at the Philippine island of Palawan, which faces the hotly contested waters, further underscoring the growing regional involvement in the South China Sea dispute.
As the military posturing continues, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos issued a strongly worded statement on March 28, vowing that the country would not be “cowed into silence, submission, or subservience” by China.
With talks between the Philippines and Japan for a defence pact that would allow the countries to deploy troops on each other’s territory still ongoing, the South China Sea remains a tinderbox of regional tensions, with Beijing’s latest military manoeuvres adding fuel to the simmering disputes.
