BEIJING, August 7. /TASS/. Chinese forces have begun patrolling the waters near the disputed Huangyan (Scarborough Reef) islands in the South China Sea, the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army said.

According to the statement posted on the command's WeChat page, the purpose of the mission is to test intelligence and early warning capabilities, troop mobility, and sea and air strike capabilities. The statement emphasized that the People's Liberation Army is monitoring the situation in view of "any military activities [by other countries] that destabilize the South China Sea, create hotspots and undermine regional peace and stability."

For several decades, China has been in dispute with several countries over the territorial ownership of certain islands in the South China Sea, on the shelf of which significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered. The first of these are the Sisha archipelago (Paraselsky Islands), the Nansha (Spratly) and Huangyan (Scarborough Reef) islands, which are contested by Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.