TPW Desk: China conducted military ‘combat drills’ in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday. On the same day, the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia conducted joint exercises. The Chinese military said this .News from AFP.

China announced the drills a day after the defense chiefs of the US, Australia and Japan, along with the Philippines, announced that they would conduct joint exercises in the region on Sunday.

Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said it conducted joint naval and air combat exercises in the South China Sea.

They said in a statement, “All military activities that make the situation in the South China Sea tense are under control.”

No further details were given about China’s military operations in the waters on Sunday.

China conducted the exercise a few days before US President Joe Biden’s first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan.