Tensions remained high in the South China Sea this week as China organized military maneuvers near a disputed island in response to U.S. and allied drills in the same waters on the same day.

China's Southern Theater Command, which is responsible for military operations in the contested South China Sea, announced on Wednesday that it held a joint air and sea patrol near Huangyan Island, better known as Scarborough Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines.

Scarborough Shoal is located 124 miles from the Philippines and sits inside its exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, granting it exclusive use of underwater resources up to 200 nautical miles from its coast. China seized the atoll 12 years ago during a naval standoff with the U.S. treaty ally.

In a Hague-based arbitral panel's landmark ruling in 2016, China was adjudged to have violated international law by blocking Philippine fishing access to the atoll. The body also dismissed Beijing's sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea within the so-called "nine-dash line," which includes Scarborough Shoal.

The Chinese government refused to participate in the case and has repeatedly rejected the verdict of Philippines v. China.

The Chinese military's joint patrol aimed to test its capability to carry out reconnaissance, early warning, rapid deployment and joint strikes, the brief statement said, without disclosing further details about the operation, including which air or naval units took part.

It was a direct response to a series of U.S.-led "maritime cooperative activities" in the Philippines EEZ since last year, when Beijing and Manila's coast guard clashed over other disputed features including the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine navy's patrol ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz, front, frigate BRP Jose Rizal, left, Canadian navy frigate HMCS Montreal, right, and U.S. Navy cruiser USS Lake Erie, sail in formation during a quadrilateral maritime cooperation activity... Philippine navy's patrol ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz, front, frigate BRP Jose Rizal, left, Canadian navy frigate HMCS Montreal, right, and U.S. Navy cruiser USS Lake Erie, sail in formation during a quadrilateral maritime cooperation activity exercise in the South China Sea on August 7. Lt. j.g. Selena Esteban/U.S. Navy

The Philippines armed forces on Wednesday said it had "not monitored any purported exercise or combat patrols" in China-held Scarborough Shoal. However, it said Chinese militia vessels were continuing their illegal encroachment and presence in the atoll.

China's paramilitary fishing boats are trained, armed and organized by the country's regional military commands and play a direct role in asserting Beijing's position in sovereignty disputes, analysts say. The Chinese government says so-called "militias" are just patriotic fishermen.

In simultaneous joint statements released earlier this week, the air and naval forces of the U.S. and security allies Canada and Australia said they joined the Philippines in the latest multilateral maritime cooperative activity inside the Philippines EEZ, scheduled on August 7-8.

Chinese navy vessels attached to a flotilla under the Southern Theater Command sail toward a designated area during a combat training exercise in late June. Chinese navy vessels attached to a flotilla under the Southern Theater Command sail toward a designated area during a combat training exercise in late June. China Military/Huang Jiacheng and Wang Jian

At least three Chinese navy warships sailed near the coalition ships "as they sought to complete a joint sail in a diamond formation," the U.S. Naval Institute-run USNI News reported on Wednesday. The Philippines also confirmed the presence of the Chinese vessels.

In its statement, the Chinese military did not name the U.S. or its allies but said it was closely monitoring all foreign military activity in the region, which it described as attempts to "make trouble, create tensions, and jeopardize peace and stability."

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