China said Friday, April 26, it would not allow anyone to sow chaos in the South China Sea as it said it is closely monitoring the joint maritime exercises between Filipino and American troops.
As the Philippines and the United States started their annual war games in the West Philippine Sea, among other venues, with many countries participating as observers, China said relevant moves are being followed.
And China "will resolutely respond with effective measures," the Chinese embassy in Manila said in a statement.
The embassy also said that China is opposing supposed "external interference, muscle flexing, provocations and harassment" in the South China Sea as well as the piecing together of exclusive circles or bloc confrontation.
"We will never allow anyone to sow chaos the South China Sea," it added.
On April 22, Filipino and American troops started the 39th iteration of the annual Balikatan Exercises.
At least 16,000 joint troops will hold drills, with 14 countries joining as observers, including France which deployed its vessel.
During the war games, participating troops will execute a range of complex missions across domains, including maritime security, sensing and targeting, air and missile defense, dynamic missile strikes, cyber defense, and information operations, the embassy said.
The Philippine Navy, the US Navy, and the French Navy will also conduct a Multilateral Maritime Exercise in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, the West Philippine Sea that is contested by China to be its own.