China seized the shoal, which lies west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, in 2012, and has since restricted access to Filipino fishermen there. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court found that most Chinese claims in the South China Sea were invalid but Beijing refuses to abide by it.
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Tensions between China and the Philippines have been building over their competing claims to Scarborough Shoal and other outcrops in the South China Sea. Clashes have occurred including the Chinese coast guard firing water cannons at Filipino ships.
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“What we see is an increasing demand by Beijing for us to concede our sovereign rights in the area,” Manila’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said after meeting Australian counterpart Richard Marles, adding that the Philippines was a “victim of Chinese aggression”.
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China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.