Chinese vessels shadow US-Philippine naval drills in South China Sea near disputed shoal

Lead

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it dispatched vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea in response to a joint US-Philippine maritime drill near Scarborough Shoal over the weekend. The statement came a day after Manila said four Chinese vessels monitored the exercise near the disputed shoal, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

A rare stand-off between Chinese and Philippine navies occurred near the atoll a week ago, adding to tensions in the long-running territorial dispute.

Coverage comparison

South China Morning Post reported that the PLA statement followed a Philippine announcement that four Chinese vessels had monitored a US-Philippine maritime exercise. The Post also detailed a separate incident: four Chinese warships confronted a Philippine Navy vessel near Scarborough Shoal on Saturday, coinciding with the conclusion of Salaknib 2026, a nearly three-month joint military exercise.

Both reports, published by the same outlet, describe the same region but focus on different events: one on the PLA’s response to the joint drill, the other on the naval confrontation. The Post’s coverage uses terms like "confronted" and "stand-off" to describe the latter, while the former is framed as a response to the exercise.

Key claims

The PLA dispatched vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea in response to a joint US-Philippine maritime drill near Scarborough Shoal, as stated by the PLA and reported by the South China Morning Post.

A joint US-Philippine maritime drill took place near Scarborough Shoal, with four Chinese vessels monitoring the exercise, according to Philippine media as reported by the Post.

The Philippine Navy and US Coast Guard conducted a bilateral maritime cooperation activity (BMCA) 50 nautical miles from the shoal from Saturday to Sunday, according to ABS-CBN as reported by the Post. The exercise involved the Philippine Navy’s BRP Antonio Luna and coastguard vessels BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Capones, along with the USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC Emlen Tunnell.

The confrontation coincided with the end of Salaknib 2026, a nearly three-month joint military exercise involving more than 7,000 troops from the Philippines, the US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, as reported by GMA Network’s 24 Oras Weekend.

The Philippine Navy’s Miguel Malvar-class guided-missile frigate BRP Diego Silang encountered four Chinese warships after meeting one Chinese PLA naval vessel earlier that morning, according to the same report. The crews exchanged radio challenges, telling each other to leave the area immediately.

The Diego Silang launched its onboard AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter while sailing at 18 knots as part of a patrol near the shoal.

Scarborough Shoal – a triangular coral reef surrounding a lagoon – lies about 124 nautical miles (230 km) off the Philippine coast and about 874 km from China’s Hainan province. It is claimed by both the Philippines and China and remains a flashpoint in their South China Sea dispute.

No comment from Beijing on the confrontation was included in the Post’s report; the report noted that Beijing had not commented.