China Conducts Air-Sea Exercise Near Scarborough Shoal on Sunday

China‘s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command conducted a joint naval and air training exercise in the waters and airspace around Scarborough Shoal on Sept. 27.

The exercise at Scarborough Shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island, focused on reconnaissance and early warning, rapid maneuver and joint search-and-rescue operations, and tested the troops’ naval-air coordination, rapid support and system-based operational capabilities, according to a military statement Sunday.

Southern Theater Command forces will remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the statement added.

Scarborough Shoal is an collection of reefs and outcroppings long claimed by both China and the Philippines.