China carried out coastguard patrols around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday, vowing to “resolutely safeguard” its national sovereignty amid tensions with rival claimant Philippines and the US-led West.
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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) also conducted at least two patrols this month around the contested reef, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, including one on Thursday.
The China Coast Guard announced the latest patrols in a brief statement on Saturday, saying it had “continuously strengthened law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters and surrounding areas of China’s Huangyan Island” since the beginning of November.
The aim was to “further strengthen control over the relevant waters and resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” it said.
The PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, also said in a statement on Thursday that it had been “reinforcing patrols and vigilance” around the reef this month, following “combat readiness patrols” in the sea and airspace around the reef.
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China seized Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after an intense stand-off with the Philippines. Along with the Second Thomas and Sabina shoals also claimed by the Philippines, the disputed feature has been at the centre of heightened tensions between Beijing and Manila in recent months, with a string of maritime confrontations including collisions, vessel damage and injury.
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