BEIJING — China began five consecutive days of live-fire military drills in the South China Sea starting on the 24th, extending its territorial dispute with the Philippines. The exercises come shortly after a standoff between the two countries over the airspace above Scarborough Shoal — called Huangyan Island in China and Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines — and after joint patrols between the Philippines and outside nations, raising the prospect of heightened military tension.
The Zhanjiang Maritime Safety Administration said the live-fire drills will take place daily for 10 hours (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) from the 24th through the 28th in parts of the South China Sea, and it banned entry to the waters, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported on the 24th. According to information released by the authorities, the live-fire zone lies in open waters southeast of Guangdong Province's Leizhou Peninsula, in the northern South China Sea and north of the eastern entrance to the Qiongzhou Strait.
The drills unfold as tensions between China and the Philippines escalate. The People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command claimed on the 21st that three small Philippine aircraft entered the airspace above Scarborough Shoal without the Chinese government's approval. The Chinese military said it deployed naval and air forces to track and monitor the aircraft and issued warning broadcasts. Li Jianjian, a spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command's air force, warned that the Philippine action "seriously infringed on China's sovereignty and could easily lead to misunderstanding and miscalculation," and called on the Philippines to "immediately stop its infringement and provocation."
China is also taking issue with the Philippines expanding military cooperation in the South China Sea alongside outside nations. The state-run Global Times reported on the 22nd, citing a Chinese military official, that the Philippines that day drew in an "outside nation" to conduct joint patrols in the South China Sea, and that the Chinese military tracked and monitored the entire process.
Security cooperation between the Philippines and Japan is also strengthening. A defense agreement resembling a mutual logistics support pact, which the two countries signed earlier this year, recently took effect, according to Bloomberg. The agreement allows the two countries to provide each other with supplies and services during joint exercises or crisis situations.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that it did not recognize China's sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. China, however, has not accepted the ruling, and friction with neighboring countries such as the Philippines has persisted. Last month, marking the 10th anniversary of the PCA ruling, the United States issued a joint statement with Indo-Pacific allies including Japan, Australia and New Zealand, drawing a strong backlash from China, which called it "an illegal, null and void measure with no binding force."
