The Scarborough Shoal, among other islands in the region, has been one of the most contested regions between Manila and Beijing. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016 ruled in favour of the Phillippines, rejecting China’s claims to a large swath of the regional waters. The ruling was ignored by China.

The Philippines held a one-day multilateral maritime activity with allied nations amid an ongoing territorial dispute with neighbouring China in the South China Sea. Footage captured by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shows the participating vessels sailing in a three-column formation in the West Philippine Sea - Manila's term for South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone - on8.

China's military says it has conducted drills near the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The exercises come as other countries, including the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New Zealand hold their own drills in waters that fall inside the Philippines' maritime territory in the South China Sea.