The operations were announced by China’s military and maritime authorities as regional defense leaders gathered in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s leading security forum, where concerns over maritime disputes and regional stability featured prominently.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command said naval and air units carried out combat-readiness patrols in what it described as the territorial waters and airspace surrounding Scarborough Shoal, one of the most contested features in the South China Sea.

In a statement published on the social media platform WeChat, the command said the patrols were intended to counter what it called rights violations and provocative activities in the area.

China’s coast guard separately confirmed that it had undertaken law-enforcement patrols near the shoal and said it had handled vessels engaged in what it described as illegal activities during the month. The agency did not provide additional details regarding the incidents.

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing did not immediately comment on the patrols.

The Chinese operations followed remarks by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue that the Philippines remained under a “severe threat” from China both territorially and politically.

Teodoro said Manila had little choice but to remain resilient and continue resisting what he described as Chinese aggression, despite a recent easing of tensions between Washington and Beijing following talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.

Scarborough Shoal has become a recurring flashpoint in the increasingly tense maritime dispute between China and the Philippines. The area is rich in fishing resources and occupies a strategically important position in the South China Sea.

Confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have intensified in recent years, with several incidents involving collisions, water-cannon encounters and injuries to personnel.

China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea through its so-called “nine-dash line,” a sweeping claim that overlaps with the exclusive economic zones claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

The dispute has remained one of Asia’s most sensitive geopolitical issues despite repeated diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis under international law. Beijing rejected the ruling and has continued to assert its claims across the strategic waterway.

The latest patrols underscore the persistence of territorial disputes in the region even as major powers seek to stabilize broader diplomatic relations.