China Escalates Drills Near Scarborough Shoal Amid Philippine Seabed Claims

China has intensified joint naval-air drills near the Scarborough Shoal, a move seen as a calibrated coercion campaign against Manila to punish Philippine seabed claims. This escalation, coupled with China's broader challenge to the centrality of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), could complicate US alliance commitments ahead of a potential Trump-Xi summit. The Philippines is expected to file a formal diplomatic protest or request a US Freedom of Navigation patrol in response.