China Holds Naval, Air Combat Readiness Patrols in South China Sea

(MENAFN) China's military dispatched naval vessels and warplanes on combat readiness patrols across the disputed South China Sea, state media reported Tuesday, escalating tensions in one of the world's most contested waterways.

The patrols were carried out Sunday and Monday, according to Xinhua News, citing Zhai Shichen, spokesman for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command.

Zhai took direct aim at Manila's growing military partnerships, declaring: "The Philippines co-opted countries outside the region to organize the so-called joint patrols, which had undermined peace and stability in the region."

He warned that the Chinese military would "resolutely safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and firmly uphold regional peace and stability" — language widely interpreted as a stern signal to both the Philippines and its foreign partners.

The latest patrols follow a similar show of force last month, when Beijing deployed warships and warplanes on "combat readiness" drills across the same contested waters.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have steadily intensified in recent years over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea — a strategically vital expanse of water through which trillions of dollars in global trade pass annually. Manila has increasingly leaned on security partnerships with external powers, a move Beijing has repeatedly condemned as inflammatory and destabilizing.

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