Philippine navy holds exercise near disputed shoal amid standoff with China

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine navy said on Friday its ships were holding drills near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, a day after Manila and Beijing agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite ongoing disputes.

The exercise around the Scarborough shoal, one of Asia's most hotly contested areas, was aimed at enhancing the navy's capability to secure what it said were Philippine waters and the country's territorial integrity, the navy said in a statement.

It described it as a "routine unilateral exercise" involving its Antonio Luna frigate and two other patrol ships operating in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The exercises would take place from Jan. 17-19, it said.

The drills coincided with the continued radio challenges by the Philippine coast guard to the presence at the shoal of China's largest coast guard vessel, which it says is illegally patrolling in Manila's EEZ.

"If China is genuinely committed to deescalating tensions and sincerely seeks to foster mutual trust and cooperation between our nations ...the Chinese government must respect the Philippines' sovereign rights in our EEZ," the coast guard said in a statement late on Thursday.

China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

China's expansive territorial claims in the key maritime trade route overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing's claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.

During Thursday's 10th round of talks under a bilateral mechanism set up to address issues in the South China Sea, China and the Philippines both agreed to boost communication and deepen dialogue, but also called each other out over recent standoffs.

They also pledged to advance coast guard and marine scientific cooperation while committing to resolving issues peacefully.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty)

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