China’s military says it ran combat readiness patrols around Huangyan Dao, calling them countermeasures against the Philippines

China’s military said on Friday that its naval and air forces conducted combat readiness patrols around a disputed shoal in the South China Sea^5,8. The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command said the patrols covered what it described as the territorial sea and airspace of China’s Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas¹.

Naval and air units of the command carried out the patrols on Friday^2,9. In a statement, the command said the patrols were “necessary countermeasures” in response to the Philippines^3,4.

Separately, China’s coast guard and maritime militia carried out large-scale tactical exercises close to disputed shoals in the South China Sea, using water cannons and drones⁷.

Why it matters to investors

The two sides describe the waters differently. China’s defence ministry presents the area as Chinese territorial sea and airspace¹, a claim that is Beijing’s own position. Reporting in the Philippines refers to it as a disputed shoal^3,4.

Chinese state media framed the operation as a message to Manila. The patrols by the PLA and the China Coast Guard send a clear warning against what it called Philippine provocations, and are highly targeted, according to Ding Duo, a director at a Chinese research centre on international and regional issues⁶.

Analysts said the combat patrols reinforce China’s military pressure in the South China Sea⁸. The pairing of military patrols with coast guard and maritime militia drills⁷ shows that pressure being applied through several channels in the same week, at sea and in the air^2,7.

What to watch

The Philippine response is the next test. China framed its patrols as a reply to the Philippines⁴, so further moves by Manila could prompt more patrols of the kind the Southern Theater Command carried out on Friday².

Investors will also watch whether the coast guard and militia exercises⁷ continue near other disputed features. Water cannons and drones were part of those drills⁷, and their use near Philippine vessels would mark an escalation from exercises to confrontation.

China’s military described Friday’s operation as combat readiness patrols in waters it claims as its own¹, while outside analysts saw it as added military pressure⁸. How the dispute develops will matter for shipping and for defence relationships in the region, where the Philippines is the party China named³.