ANKARA

China’s military said on Saturday that it had monitored and tracked a recent joint maritime patrol organized by the Philippines with foreign forces in the disputed South China Sea, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, accused Manila of having “severely undermined regional peace and stability.”

Tian said the PLA deployed forces to “closely track and monitor” the activities, stressing that “all such actions seeking to stir up trouble in the South China Sea are under our firm control.”

“The recent developments further confirm that the Philippines is acting as a troublemaker in the South China Sea issue and a disruptor of regional stability,” he said.

The Philippines, together with the US, Australia, and New Zealand, held a two-day joint maritime exercise from Oct. 30 to Oct. 31 in the South China Sea.

Tian said Chinese troops “remain on high alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”

The Philippines had not publicly responded to the Chinese military’s latest statement at the time of publication.

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have intensified in recent months over the resource-rich waterway, where China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire sea. The Philippines, set to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2026, has sought stronger security ties with Western allies amid repeated maritime run-ins with Chinese vessels.