China conducts military exercise near disputed reef with Philippines

New tensions in the South China Sea between Beijing and Manila. The Chinese army announced on Wednesday, August 7, that it was conducting a military exercise near Scarborough Reef, an islet controlled by China but claimed by the Philippines. These maneuvers come as the Philippines begins two days of joint maritime and air exercises with the United States, Canada and Australia. “All military activities that disrupt the situation in the South China Sea, create points of tension and undermine regional peace and stability are under control,” the Chinese military stressed, in an apparent allusion to these maneuvers.

Announcing to lead “a joint combat patrol in the sea and airspace near Huangyan Island”the Chinese name for Scarborough Reef, the Chinese general staff said the operation aims to “test the reconnaissance and early warning, rapid maneuver and joint strike capabilities of its troops.”

The China-Philippines confrontation is fueling fears of a potential conflict that could lead to Washington’s intervention because of its mutual defense treaty with Manila.

China claims much of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Other littoral states such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have competing, sometimes overlapping, claims. Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos came to power in 2022, Manila has been more assertive in asserting its sovereignty claims over some disputed reefs, in the face of Beijing, which itself has no intention of giving up on its claims.