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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.

Agencies
Beijing, China
Sun, May 31, 2026 Published on May. 31, 2026 Published on 2026-05-31T13:03:37+07:00

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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. 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)

China's military said it carried out combat readiness patrols near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday.

"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.

Earlier on Wednesday, China's military drove away a Dutch navy vessel it accused of "illegally intruding" into the area around the Paracel Islands in the contested South China Sea.

Beijing claims the South China Sea in nearly its entirety despite a 2016 international ruling rejecting its assertion, fuelling tensions with its regional neighbours.

The Netherlands insisted that its frigate had been in international waters.

The Dutch navy frigate De Ruyter "repeatedly launched its shipborne helicopter" to "violate China's airspace", the Chinese military's Southern Theater Command said in a statement.

Chinese forces took measures such as verbal warnings and "electronic jamming" to force the vessel away, it added.

"The Dutch side's actions seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty and maritime and air security, seriously breached international law and the basic norms of international relations," the statement said.

China "firmly opposes" the acts and has warned the Dutch side to immediately stop its "provocative" actions, it added.

The Dutch defence ministry denied that the ship had been in territorial waters.

The ship "is sailing on, in waters where free movement is allowed," a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

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