On Monday night, the People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier CNS Shandong (17) sailed out of the Philippine Sea back into the South China Sea, Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO) announced on Tuesday.

In recent months, China has deployed navy, coast guard and so-called maritime militia forces – allegedly Chinese fishing vessels – in a bid to bar the Philippines from a trio of strategically important reefs and islands in the South China Sea.

The Philippine military has opened two weeks of combat drills that will include seizing an island in the disputed South China Sea and likely be frowned upon by China.

Congressman Rufus Rodriguez says the USS Philippine Sea cruiser will help the Philippines assert its sovereignty and protect its fishers.

China’s militarization of the South China Sea (SCS) has established a powerful anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) network across the region, positioning it to delay or block U.S. intervention in a Taiwan contingency.