China Conducts Naval and Air Drills Near Disputed South China Sea Shoal

Afghanistan, Sept. 27 -- Chinese military conducts fresh exercises in contested South China Sea as tensions with the Philippines continue over sovereignty and maritime access.

The Chinese military said it carried out joint naval and air exercises around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday, intensifying Beijing's military presence in one of the region's most contested maritime flashpoints.

China's Southern Theater Command said the exercises involved naval vessels, combat aircraft and routine combat-readiness patrols near the shoal, which Beijing calls Huangyan Dao. The military said the drills were intended to safeguard China's sovereignty and maritime rights in the area.

Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philipp...