Sat Mar 29 05:06:32 UTC 2025: ## China Conducts South China Sea Patrol Amidst US-Philippines Military Drills
**Manila/Beijing, March 29, 2025** – China’s military announced a South China Sea patrol on Friday, March 28th, coinciding with a reaffirmation of US commitment to the Philippines and joint US-Japan-Philippines naval drills in the contested waterway.
The patrol, according to a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command, follows what China claims are destabilizing actions by the Philippines, including frequent joint patrols with foreign nations and the assertion of “illegal claims.”
This comes on the heels of a visit by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Manila, where he met with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The visit underscored the US commitment to the Philippines amid ongoing territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
The South China Sea, a vital waterway for global commerce (estimated at $3 trillion annually), is subject to overlapping sovereignty claims by several nations, including China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei. China’s claim encompasses almost the entirety of the sea.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing has yet to respond to requests for comment on the latest developments.
First Piper 