BEIJING (AP) — China held sea and air combat drills Wednesday at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, an area of reefs and rocks the Philippines also claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has protested China’s baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, as tensions between the two nations build up anew over their competing claims in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has explicitly labeled China's baseline declarations around Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) as illegal under international law — a direct pushback against Beijing after it aired its fury over Manila's new maritime zones law.

China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

Observer says China would not want to provoke confrontation, but would never let the Philippines stir up trouble in the South China Sea.