South China Sea Exercises Doctrine Coast Guard

Jun Sheng | China's Strengthening of Control Over Huangyan Island Is Lawful and Justified

钧声丨中方加强黄岩岛管控合法合理

PLA Daily (解放军报) 2 August 2026

Summary

The PLA Southern Theater Command conducted maritime and aerial joint exercises (海空联合演训) around Huangyan Island on August 1, framed here as a direct response to the Philippines drawing territorial sea baselines around the feature. The article, published under the 'Jun Sheng' byline used for authoritative PLA commentary, pairs the exercise announcement with a legal and historical case for Chinese sovereignty and lists recent administrative measures — national nature reserve regulations, Coast Guard patrols, and UN-deposited baseline charts — as a cumulative record of Beijing's effort to harden de facto control. The 'toolbox' warning in the closing paragraph extends a pattern of deliberately vague escalation language, leaving the specific thresholds and instruments unnamed.

Translation

China's Strengthening of Control Over Huangyan Island Is Lawful and Justified

Recently, the Philippines drew so-called "territorial sea baselines" around Huangyan Island, Chinese territory, in a vain attempt to breathe new life into the illegal 2016 arbitration, while stirring up a new round of inflammatory propaganda and hype. This deeply provocative and egregious conduct gravely infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty, gravely violates international law including the United Nations Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and once again lays bare the ugly face of certain Philippine politicians who persistently create trouble and stir up disorder in the South China Sea. On August 1, the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command organized maritime and aerial joint exercises and training (海空联合演训) in the territorial sea, airspace, and surrounding maritime and aerial domains of Huangyan Island. This is a necessary action in response to the current South China Sea situation and to individual countries within the region that are undermining regional peace and stability, and it is also a necessary step in firmly safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

The vast South China Sea surges with rolling waves. Over a long period, through the joint efforts of China and many regional countries, the overall situation in the South China Sea has remained generally stable. However, certain Philippine politicians, driven by their own filthy personal interests, have openly violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and have repeatedly gone back on established consensus. From clamoring everywhere about the illegal "South China Sea arbitration ruling," to fabricating and enacting a so-called "Maritime Zones Act" in an attempt to entrench the so-called "ruling" through domestic legislation; from unilaterally submitting a submission on the outer continental shelf delimitation in the South China Sea, to frequently dispatching vessels to intrude into Huangyan Island and inciting fishing boats to illegally operate in the Huangyan Island lagoon — the Philippine side has repeatedly provoked and caused trouble, gravely infringing upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, gravely disrupting the overall trend of peace and stability in the South China Sea, and gravely impeding the broader situation of regional prosperity and development.

Huangyan Island is China's inherent territory. China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island is historically traceable with clarity and legally grounded with ironclad evidence. China was the first to discover and name Huangyan Island, and has long engaged in its development and utilization. China has continuously, peacefully, and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Island, including when the then-government of China in 1947 verified and published a comparative table of old and new names for the South China Sea islands, designating it "Minzhu Reef" (民主礁), and when the People's Republic of China in 1983 publicly announced "some place names of our country's South China Sea islands," designating its standard name as Huangyan Island.

The territorial scope of the Philippines has been determined by a series of international treaties, and Huangyan Island has never been included among them. The Philippine side has also publicly acknowledged this on multiple occasions, never raising any objection to Huangyan Island belonging to China prior to 1997, and never making any territorial claim over Huangyan Island. Yet now it turns black into white, goes back on its word, and plays a double-dealing game, gravely violating a series of principles and rules of international law. In recent years, the Chinese government has lawfully delimited and announced the territorial sea baselines of Huangyan Island, deposited with the United Nations the declaration and charts of Huangyan Island's territorial sea baselines, established a national-level nature reserve at Huangyan Island and issued the "Regulations on the Administration of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve" (《黄岩岛国家级自然保护区管理办法》), and strengthened Coast Guard law enforcement patrols in the territorial sea of our Huangyan Island and related waters. This series of forceful measures to strengthen control both demonstrates firm resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and regional stability, and draws an inviolable red line in the South China Sea — our ancestral sea (祖宗海) — decisively smashing the sinister schemes of certain Philippine politicians who harbor ulterior motives.

The Philippines' current drawing of so-called "territorial sea baselines" is yet another instance of unreasonable provocation after its true intentions have been revealed. It vainly attempts to use a set of illegal and invalid manipulations to falsify the question of sovereignty over Huangyan Island. The Philippine side's erroneous conduct of exploiting the occasion to hype the issue and confuse right and wrong uses legal procedures entirely as a pretext, with the true aim being to stir up the situation. It has no legal standing and commands no moral support.

Over many years, this stretch of the South China Sea has accumulated the fiery imprints and history of struggle of China and Southeast Asian nations standing together against aggression and fighting side by side. It has also reflected the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance among countries during the Asian financial crisis, and has witnessed the high points and blossoming of friendship when China and ASEAN reached a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Numerous facts prove that the South China Sea is a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation, which all parties should cherish all the more. Yet certain Philippine politicians, disregarding the overall situation and ignoring the broader trend, have repeatedly colluded in private with extra-regional forces, willingly serving as pawns in great-power rivalry, and wantonly undermining the stability of the South China Sea. Their various erroneous actions gravely erode the unity and cooperation that all parties have worked to maintain, and will only make neighboring countries see more clearly the true nature of the Philippine side as a creator of maritime dangers and a party responsible for destabilizing the region.

In this small world, a few flies dash themselves against the wall. We urge the Philippine side to turn back from the wrong path as soon as possible, abide by all the commitments it has made to China to date, and make genuine efforts to stabilize bilateral relations. At the same time, we must also sternly warn those forces that seek to stir up trouble and make waves in the South China Sea: on the question of safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea, China's "toolbox" contains options that are abundant and powerful. Any sinister scheme that harms China's sovereignty, security, and development interests will be met with a resolute response and a head-on blow.

Original Chinese

中方加强黄岩岛管控合法合理近期，菲律宾在中国领土黄岩岛划设所谓“领海基线”，妄图为2016年那场非法仲裁“续命”，并掀起新一轮煽宣炒作。此种充满挑衅意味的恶劣行径，严重侵犯中国领土主权，严重违反《联合国宪章》《联合国海洋法公约》等国际法，再度暴露出一些菲律宾政客不断生事、搅乱南海的丑陋面目。8月1日，中国人民解放军南部战区位黄岩岛领海、领空和周边海空域组织海空联合演训，这是针对当前南海局势及个别域内国家破坏地区和平稳定的必要行动，也是坚定维护国家领土主权和海洋权益的必要之举。浩渺南海，浪涛奔涌。长期以来，在中国和许多地区国家的共同努力下，南海局势保持总体稳定。然而，一些菲律宾政客为个人肮脏私欲，公然违反《南海各方行为宣言》，屡次三番背弃既有共识。从四处鼓噪非法“南海仲裁案裁决”，到炮制出台所谓“海洋区域法”企图以国内立法形式固化所谓“裁决”；从单方面提交涉南海外大陆架划界案，到频繁派遣船只冲闯黄岩岛、怂恿渔船到黄岩岛潟湖非法作业……菲方频繁挑衅滋事，严重侵犯中方领土主权和海洋权益，严重干扰南海和平稳定大势，严重掣肘地区繁荣发展大局。黄岩岛是中国固有领土。中国对黄岩岛的主权，历史经纬清晰可辨，法理依据铁证如山。中国最早发现、命名黄岩岛，并对黄岩岛进行长期开发和利用。中国持续、和平、有效地对黄岩岛行使主权和管辖权，包括1947年当时的中国政府核定和公布南海诸岛新旧名称对照表时将其名称定为“民主礁”，新中国1983年对外公布“我国南海诸岛部分地名”时将其标准名称定为黄岩岛。菲律宾的领土范围已由一系列国际条约所确定，黄岩岛从来不在其中。菲方也曾多次公开承认这一点，在1997年之前从未对黄岩岛属于中国提出异议，从未对黄岩岛提出领土要求。如今其却颠倒黑白、出尔反尔，玩弄两面三刀伎俩，严重违反一系列国际法原则和规则。近年来，中国政府依法划定并公布黄岩岛领海基线，向联合国交存黄岩岛领海基线声明和海图，建立黄岩岛国家级自然保护区并发布《黄岩岛国家级自然保护区管理办法》，强化海警在我黄岩岛领海及相关海域执法巡查……一系列加强管控的举措铿锵有力，既彰显了维护国家主权与地区稳定的坚定决心，也在南海这片祖宗海上划下不可逾越的红线，坚决粉碎了一些菲律宾政客别有用心的阴险图谋。此次菲律宾划设所谓“领海基线”，完全是图穷匕见后的又一次无理取闹。其妄图用一番非法无效的操弄，篡改黄岩岛的主权归属。菲方借机炒作、混淆视听的错误行径，法律程序全是幌子，搅乱局势才是目的，其在法理上站不住脚，在道义上不得人心。多年来，南海这片海域，沉淀着中国与东南亚国家不畏强暴、并肩战斗的烽火印记、抗争历史，也映照过亚洲金融危机中各国和衷共济、守望相助，更见证了中国与东盟达成全面战略伙伴关系、签署《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》的高光时刻、友谊之花。诸多事实证明，南海是和平之海、友谊之海、合作之海，各方都应倍加珍惜。然而，一些菲律宾政客无视大局、罔顾大势，频频与域外势力私下勾连，甘当大国博弈棋子，肆意破坏南海稳定态势。其种种错误行径，严重侵蚀各方用心维护的团结合作，只会让周边国家更加看清菲方制造海上危险肇事者、破坏地区稳定责任方的本质。小小寰球，有几个苍蝇碰壁。我们要奉劝菲方尽早迷途知返，恪守迄今对中方作出的各项承诺，为稳定双边关系作出切实努力。同时，我们也要严正警告那些企图在南海搅乱生事、兴风作浪的势力，在维护南海和平稳定的问题上，中方“工具箱”里的选项丰富而有力。任何危害中国主权、安全、发展利益的险恶图谋，都将遭到坚决回应和迎头痛击。