China Conducts Drills Near Scarborough Shoal Amid US-Philippine Military Exercises

Tensions rise in the South China Sea as China and the Philippines engage in strategic maneuvers and resupply missions.

• China's People’s Liberation Army carried out naval and air exercises around the contested Scarborough Shoal, coinciding with US-Philippine joint military drills.
• The Philippines successfully conducted a resupply mission to the grounded warship Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal under a provisional agreement with China.
• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the South China Sea tensions, with Wang urging the US not to stir up trouble.
• The South China Sea remains a flashpoint with multiple confrontations reported, including a recent incident involving water cannons and flares between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
• The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled against China's extensive claims in the South China Sea in 2016, but China continues to assert its territorial claims.

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