Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, said on Thursday that on May 5, the Philippine Corvette 35 attempted to intrude into the territorial waters of China's Huangyan Dao. The PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to lawfully track, monitor, issue warnings, and expel the vessel, effectively preventing the Philippine vessel from entering China's territorial waters. 

A map released by the PLA Southern Theater Command showed that the closest distance between the Philippine corvette and the territorial sea baseline of China’s Huangyan Dao was 12.4 nautical miles, at 5:31 pm on Monday.

China sternly warns the Philippines to immediately cease its infringements, provocations, and distortion of the truth. The troops of the Southern Theater Command remain on high alert at all times, resolutely defending national sovereignty, security, and maritime rights and interests, and firmly safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea, the spokesperson said.