China considers almost the entire South China Sea to be part of its territory. China regularly sends its coast guard ships to the area to enforce its territorial claims.
There are regular collisions with ships from the Philippines. US Admiral John Aquilino is “very, very concerned about the direction in which this is going” China on Wednesday rejected the claims, saying the disputed islands have “always been part of Chinese territory” “If the US truly wants peace and stability, it should stop stoking tensions, forming gangs and fomenting confrontation,” said a Chinese Foreign Office spokeswoman. The US admiral, who has around 375,000 soldiers under his command, believes that Beijing's behavior in the region follows a pattern. He is particularly concerned about China's behavior on Second Thomas Shoal, a reef that is part of the Spratly Island claimed by China, the Philippines and other countries. The Philippines operates an outpost on the reef, based on a ship that was intentionally grounded there.