Chinese vessels shadow US-Philippine naval drills in South China Sea near disputed shoal

The People’s Liberation Army said it dispatched vessels and aircraft to the China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea in response to a joint US-Philippine maritime drill in the waters near Scarborough Shoal over the weekend.The PLA’s statement came a day after Manila said four Chinese vessels monitored a US-Philippine maritime exercise near the disputed shoal, which was reported by Philippine media on Monday.A week ago, a rare stand-off between Chinese and Philippine navies took place near the atoll.Over the weekend, one Chinese navy vessel – a Type 054B guided-missile frigate bearing the bow number 555 – and three Chinese coastguard ships followed the bilateral maritime cooperation activity (BMCA) conducted by the United States Coast Guard and Philippine Navy and coastguard 50 nautical miles away (93km, or about 58 miles) from Scarborough Shoal, according to Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN.The Philippine Navy’s BRP Antonio Luna and its coastguard vessels, the BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Capones, carried out the exercise with the USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC Emlen Tunnell from Saturday to Sunday, ABS-CBN reported.