Starting Tuesday, China is conducting military drills in parts of the South China Sea, prohibiting ships from entering.
According to the China Maritime Safety Administration website, the Sansha Maritime Safety Administration has issued a navigation warning: from 6 a.m. on August 11 to 6 p.m. on August 15, military drills will be held in certain areas of the South China Sea, and entry is forbidden.
Relations between China and the Philippines have been tense recently. After another clash in July this year in waters near Scarborough Shoal (called Scarborough Shoal by the Philippines), multiple Chinese government agencies jointly issued the “Regulations on the Management of Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” on August 1, announcing the establishment of a routine patrol system in the reserve. On the same day, the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command conducted joint military exercises in the waters and airspace around Huangyan Island.
The United States on Saturday criticized China for using the designation of a nature reserve as a pretext for destabilizing activities near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, accusing it of advancing territorial expansion under the guise of “untenable” environmental protection reasons.