China’s Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army announced on Sunday that it had organised a routine patrol by its naval and air forces in the South China Sea.

The patrol was conducted amid tensions with the Philippines, which China accused of holding joint patrols with foreign countries in the disputed waterway, undermining regional peace and stability.

Senior navy Colonel Zhai Shichen, spokesperson for the Southern Theatre Command, stated that the Philippines had ‘rallied foreign countries to organise so-called joint patrols, disrupting the South China Sea and undermining regional peace and stability.’

Zhai added that the forces of the command would ‘resolutely defend national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interest, firmly maintaining regional peace and stability.’

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Southeast Asian nations, and rejects a 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating its claims.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.