China conducts military drills in South China Sea

China conducts military patrols in South China Sea amid joint drills by Philippines, US, Japan, and Australia.

China conducted military "combat patrols" April 7 in the disputed South China Sea, its army said, the same day as joint drills by the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia.

The announcement comes one day after defence chiefs from four countries including the Philippines — which has been engaged in several contentious maritime disputes with Beijing recently — said they would conduct joint drills on April 7 in the area.

Also read: South China Sea | Asia’s disputed waters 

Beijing's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said it was organising "joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea". "All military activities that mess up the situation in the South China Sea and create hotspots are under control," it said in a statement, in an apparent swipe at the other drills being held in the waters. Further details about the Chinese military activities in the waterway were not announced.

The exercises take place days before U.S. President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan. Top US officials have repeatedly declared the United States' "ironclad" commitment to defending the Philippines against an armed attack in the South China Sea — to the consternation of Beijing.

China claims territorial sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea and has been increasingly assertive in the region in recent years.

China's Coast Guard, on April 6, said it had "handled" a situation on Thursday at a disputed reef where several ships from the Philippines were engaged in "illegal" operations.