CHINA accused the Philippines of creating “disturbances” as its navy conducted a patrol in the South China Sea on Tuesday, as Philippine and US forces held their own drills in the disputed sea alongside the Australian Navy meant to improve their combat readiness.

In a statement late Tuesday, the Southern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said its forces had carried out routine patrols in the South China Sea, without giving an exact location.

“Recently, the Philippines has been frequently carrying out maritime infringement provocations, creating disturbances and pulling in countries from outside the region to organize so-called joint patrols,” it said.

The command’s naval and air forces have monitored the situation and maintained vigilance, it added.

“Troops in the theater of operations are maintaining a high level of alert, resolutely defending the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and resolutely safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea region,” it said.

The South China Sea has become a flashpoint in Southeast Asia as China continues to assert sovereignty over almost the entire sea, seen as a vital global trade route that is also believed to be rich in undersea gas and oil deposits.

Beijing has deployed an armada of coast guard vessels to protect what it considers its territory despite a 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling that voided its claim for being illegal.

More than 14,000 Filipino and American soldiers are participating in Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises that run from April 21 through May 9 in the face of shared regional security concerns. China has said the drills are provocative.

A Philippine missile frigate, an Australian destroyer ship and various military jets from the US participated in the April 29 military training, where a range of combat drills were performed to improve military communications, sea tactics and anti-submarine warfare capabilities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Three FA-50 fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force performed a joint patrol as part of the drills in the hotly contested waters alongside the US Pacific Air Forces’ B-1 long-range bomber and two F-16 and F-18 jets.

“The exercise demonstrates the growing synergy among like-minded partners in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” AFP Chief of Staff Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. said in the statement. “These exercises are vital in strengthening our collective defense posture and operational readiness.”

The military drills are being held in Philippine areas facing regional hotspots such as the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Started in 1991, the Balikatan exercise has evolved into Southeast Asia’s premier combat rehearsal as the Philippines and the US seek to strengthen security cooperation and enhance force interoperability in response to China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Last week, the US deployed its Nimitz aircraft carrier group to the Philippine Sea, where it is practicing day and night flight operations and testing its ability to rapidly deploy military jets in various weather conditions, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command.

The Philippines and China have been entangled in a sea row over claims in the South China Sea, with clashes flaring around disputed maritime features such as the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Tensions between them were rekindled after Chinese media said Beijing had seized a disputed reef near a Philippine outpost last week, a claim Manila quickly shot down.

The joint combat drills jeopardize regional peace and could lead to further provocations, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said last week, according to a transcript published on the agency’s website.

“The South China Sea should be a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship,” he said. “However, the Philippines holds a candle to the devil by currying favor and colluding with the US and other outside countries to make provocations.”

Responding in a separate statement to the Chinese military’s comments, the Philippine military said the armed forces stand firm in exercising their sovereign rights and partnerships with allies like the US that reflect shared values.

“The conduct of joint exercises and maritime domain awareness operations within our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone is not a provocation; it is preparedness,” it said.

“To be clear: the Philippines is a sovereign state. No foreign power can dictate how we defend our home or with whom we stand in solidarity,” it added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE Philippines and New Zealand on Wednesday signed a visiting forces agreement (VFA) that would bolster military cooperation and let their armed forces hold joint exercises in each other’s territories.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Anne Collins signed the military pact at the presidential palace in Manila, making Wellington the fourth country with which Manila has a VFA.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Catherine McIntosh and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo, witnessed the signing.

The two nations held their first round of negotiations for the pact in January and reached a consensus a month later, paving the way for its finalization.

Senate ratification is required for the agreement to take effect in the Philippines, while treaties in New Zealand become binding without formal parliamentary approval.

“This agreement will create conditions for even more seamless cooperation in the defense space,” Ms. Collins told a news briefing. “It will ensure that we are prepared to work hand-in-hand when urgent responses are required.”

The Philippines, already bound by military agreements with the US, Japan and Australia, is pursuing closer security ties with allies amid tensions with China over disputed features in the South China Sea.

Tensions flared between the two nations again this week after Chinese state media reported that Beijing had seized a reef near a Philippine military outpost in the hotly contested region, a claim that prompted Philippine security officials to issue a denial.

Ms. Collins said the region’s strategic environment is “deteriorating,” leading New Zealand to establish defense links with other nations. “We have vowed to step up and play our part, working with others in our region.”

China has sought to expand its influence and project naval power beyond its region, with its navy making an unannounced voyage around Australia from February to March and conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea — over 8,000 kilometers away from Hainan Island, China’s nearest major landmass — separating Australia and New Zealand.

“Peace is best backed with resilience and with deterrence,” Mr. Teodoro told the same briefing. “China, for example, is particularly aggressive in the way it makes its claims. We need to deter this kind of unwanted behavior from happening.”

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

Manila is also exploring visiting forces agreements with France and Canada.

Mr. Teodoro said a visiting forces agreement with Canada would be signed “very soon,” while the Defense department has just received the authority to negotiate one with France.

Meanwhile, Mr. Teodoro said his agency is reviewing more than 50 military agreements spanning from memoranda of understanding to defense cooperation and exchanges that the Philippine government has with nations that don’t share Manila’s position on the South China Sea.

The Defense secretary did not identify which countries were being scrutinized by his agency, but said he was not “singling out” any nation.

“We are also in the process of reviewing the agreements with countries that do not support our claims and that do not have benefit to our defense and foreign policy position,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the media briefing.

The Defense department’s “options are open” when it comes to taking action on the agreements the Philippines has with what Mr. Teodoro described as “misaligned” countries, including revoking the military deals under review. “The review started on day one from my assumption.”