The Chinese military on Sunday denounced the second joint patrol this month in the disputed South China Sea involving the Philippines and partner navies, as tensions in the flash point waterway continue to soar.
The Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said in a statement that the People’s Liberation Army Navy had conducted “routine patrols” in the waterway on Friday and Saturday as the Philippine Navy joined the U.S. Navy and Maritime Self-Defense Force for a “regular” trilateral exercise over the same time period.
The Philippine military said in a statement that the two-day trilateral exercise, dubbed a “Maritime Cooperative Activity,” had taken place in the waters off the country’s western Zambales province and focused on search and rescue, surveillance and reconnaissance and anti-submarine operations.
