Patrols announced by China's Southern Theater Command
China's Southern Theater Command announced on Saturday that its forces carried out naval and air patrols around Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The command said the activity formed part of a stepped-up program of combat readiness patrols in the area during January, which it described as a firm response to what it called encroachment and provocation by certain countries in the region.[S1][S2][S3]
The announcement gave no details on the number of vessels or aircraft involved, the duration of the operation, or how close they came to the shoal. It also did not specify what prompted the patrols beyond the command's general reference to activity by other regional states.[S1]
Manila's silence and the US-Philippine drills
The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not respond immediately when asked for comment on the Chinese patrols. Manila has consistently treated the shoal as falling inside its exclusive economic zone, while Beijing also regards it as part of Chinese territory, leaving the two governments with directly conflicting positions over the same waters.[S1]
The patrols followed joint exercises by the Philippine and US militaries in the Scarborough Shoal area earlier in the week. According to the Philippine armed forces, that drill was the eleventh of its kind since November 2023, a tempo that shows how regularly the two allies now operate together in waters China also claims.[S1]
