ASIA GEOPOLITICS-CHINA’S 10-LINE | China patrols waters east of Taiwan in response to Japan, Philippine border talks.
An aerial view of a China Coast Guard ship navigating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea, August 13, 2025. (Reuters/Adrian Portugal)
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South China Sea Standoff: Manila Rejects China’s Patrol Claims, China Calls Them ‘Countermeasure
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Manila firmly dismissed claims made by the Chinese military regarding coordinated combat drills at the Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc. In response to the joint U.S.-Philippines military exercises, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theatre Command announced patrols in the area, justifying them as a “countermeasure” against perceived provocations.
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Japan and the Philippines said last week they would begin formal talks on delimiting the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries “in accordance with international law”.
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C hina’s Coast Guard on Monday said it had conducted “law enforcement” patrols in Taiwan’s eastern waters in response to Japan and the Philippines’ plans to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas China claims.
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Japan and the Philippines said last week they would begin formal talks on delimiting the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries “in accordance with international law”.
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While they did not give details, China’s foreign ministry on Friday said that area covered waters east of Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, adding that such talks are “completely illegal, null and void”
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China’s Coast Guard said in a statement that a flotilla had carried out the patrol in accordance with the law to the east of Taiwan, though it did not specify where exactly.
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“This is a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the initiation of maritime boundary delimitation negotiations in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island,” it said.
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“We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that infringe upon China’s sovereign rights and interests.”
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WORLD ASIA & PACIFIC
China’s military conducts patrols near Scarborough Shoal
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China’s military conducts patrols near Scarborough Shoal “Such patrols serve as an effective countermeasure to cope with all sorts of rights violation and provocative acts,” the military’s Southern Theatre Command said in a statement on the WeChat platform.
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In this Friday, July 8, 2016 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese navy sailors search for targets onboard the missile destroyer Hefei during a military exercise in the waters near south China’s Hainan Island and Paracel Islands. They are controlled by Beijing but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. China’s navy is holding a week of military drills around the disputed islands ahead of a ruling by an international tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China’s claim to most of the South China Sea. China is boycotting the case before The Hague-based court and says it will not accept the verdict. (Xinhua via AP/Zha Chunming)
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Taiwan’s coast guard had no immediate comment.
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The Philippine and Japanese embassies in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Late Sunday, Taiwan’s foreign ministry denounced China’s comments.
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“China has no right to interfere in Taiwan’s territorial sovereignty and sovereign rights over its relevant maritime areas,’ it said.
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Taiwan reports Chinese warships and warplanes operating around the island almost daily, sometimes joined by Chinese coast guard ships.
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Earlier on Sunday, Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China, pledging to keep strengthening the military despite Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s increasingly muscular security stance.
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Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan has quickened its pivot towards a more proactive defence policy, further shaking off — with US encouragement — a pacifist outlook in place since the end of World War II.
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The change has drawn frequent rebukes from Beijing, which has accused Tokyo of following a reckless policy of “new militarism” that could destabilise the region.
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Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi hit back on Sunday, saying “nothing could be further from the truth”.
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.Agencies Beijing, China
Mon, June 1, 2026
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