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China on Wednesday carried out a "combat patrol" near the flashpoint Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea aimed at testing the "rapid mobility and joint strike capabilities" of troops, Beijing's military said.

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China Coast Guard 08072024

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172300829385320240516-atin-ito-wps-MT-46.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The presence of the China Coast Guard (CCG) persists despite the effort of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to block them and assist the four main vessels of the second civilian resupply mission of the Atin Ito Coalition to the Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on May 15, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">The presence of the China Coast Guard (CCG) persists despite the effort of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to block them and assist the four main vessels of the second civilian resupply mission of the Atin Ito Coalition to the Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on May 15, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span><em> </em></span></span></span></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">China carried out a combat patrol to test &quot;strike capabilities&quot; near a flashpoint reef in the South China Sea on Wednesday, as the United States and its allies held joint military drills in the same waters.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Tensions in the disputed waterway have spiked following a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels that have fanned fears of a wider conflict that could draw in the United States due to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Its claims include the waters around Scarborough Shoal -- which Beijing seized from Manila in 2012 -- where the Chinese military&#x27;s Southern Theater Command said Wednesday it had held joint sea and air patrols.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The triangular chain of reefs and rocks is 240 kilometers west of the Philippines&#x27; main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing said the maneuvers tested &quot;the reconnaissance and early warning, rapid mobility, and joint strike capabilities of theatre troops&quot;.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/7/philippines-holds-joint-patrols-with-us-canada-australia-1153">PH holds joint patrols with US, Canada, Australia</a></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The announcement came as the Philippines on Wednesday launched two days of sea and air exercises with the United States, Canada and Australia, according to a joint statement.</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3065254"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">A Philippine military spokesman told AFP the drills were taking place in the West Philippine Sea, which is what Manila calls the South China Sea waters to the immediate west of the archipelago.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The Chinese coastguard also conducted a separate patrol on Wednesday to &quot;uphold its rights&quot; around another group of contested islands in the East China Sea that are administered by Japan, Beijing&#x27;s state media said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;MEANT TO INTIMIDATE&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">China has long used its coastguard to assert its claims in the South China Sea, which analysts describe as &quot;grey zone&quot; harassment tactics that fall short of an outright act of war.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">And while the Chinese military had been deployed near Scarborough Shoal in the past, one analyst told AFP Wednesday&#x27;s action showed they were &quot;becoming more aggressive and forceful&quot;.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">&quot;It&#x27;s meant to intimidate,&quot; Jay Batongbacal, director of the Manila-based Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">&quot;It&#x27;s definitely meant to send a message, a show of force,&quot; he added.</p><div style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/7/27/china-warns-philippines-of-resolute-response-in-west-ph-sea-1228" style="color:rgb(199, 29, 29);text-decoration:none">China warns Philippines of &#x27;resolute&#x27; response in West PH Sea</a></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Duan Dang, a Vietnam-based maritime security analyst, said the fact China had specifically mentioned the shoal showed its &quot;mounting dissatisfaction with Manila&#x27;s recent collaborative efforts with its allies and partners&quot;.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing&#x27;s use of combat patrols in retaliation, he said, &quot;suggests that the Philippines has now become China&#x27;s second most-targeted adversary, trailing only Taiwan&quot;, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">But Ja-Ian Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said it would be best to wait and &quot;see what the drill actually involves&quot;.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">&quot;If the tit-for-tat remains restrained, then it&#x27;s just posturing by the different sides,&quot; he told AFP.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;AGGRAVATE TENSIONS&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Recent clashes between Philippine and Chinese vessels have focused on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where a handful of Filipino troops are stationed on a navy vessel that Manila deliberately grounded on the reef in 1999 to assert its claims to the area.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">One of the most serious incidents took place in June, when Chinese sailors brandishing weapons including knives and an axe boarded Philippine naval vessels during a resupply mission to the strategic reef.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/19/knives-looting-severed-thumb-philippines-details-fresh-confrontation-with-china-1613">Knives, looting, severed thumb: Philippines details fresh confrontation with China in Ayungin</a></div><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in the confrontation in which Beijing&#x27;s coastguard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing blamed the escalation on Manila and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">In recent weeks the Philippines and China agreed on a &quot;provisional arrangement&quot; for resupplying Filipino troops at Second Thomas Shoal and also to increase the number of communication lines to resolve disputes in the waterway.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Last month, the United States said it would provide $500 million in additional military funding to the Philippines, which has been modernising its armed forces.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing said in response that &quot;wooing countries from outside the region to provoke confrontation... will only undermine regional stability and aggravate tensions&quot;.</p><p style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;-webkit- text-size-adjust:100%;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The investment &quot;will only lead to greater insecurity&quot; for Manila, it warned.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>China carried out a combat patrol to test "strike capabilities" near a flashpoint reef in the South China Sea on Wednesday, as the United States and its allies held joint military drills in the same waters.</p>

China carried out a combat patrol to test "strike capabilities" near a flashpoint reef in the South China Sea on Wednesday, as the United States and its allies held joint military drills in the same waters.

China launches air, sea patrols near Scarborough as US, PH hold joint drills

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China launches air, sea patrols near Scarborough as US, PH hold joint drills

Agence France-Presse

Published August 07, 2024 01:31 PM PHT

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Updated August 07, 2024 06:04 PM PHT

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