The Philippines' foreign ministry said on Wednesday it summoned China's ambassador to protest Beijing's drawing of baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The move follows China's definition on Sunday of the baseline for "territorial waters" around the shoal,

Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. China seized the shoal, which lies west of the main Philippine island of Luzon, in 2012 and has since restricted access to Filipino fishermen there.

China declared its maritime baselines around Scarborough Shoal after the Philippines passed laws defining its maritime zones and sea lanes last week.

The ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China conducted intensive sea and air combat drills near the contentious Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday. This area—an expanse of reefs and rocks west of the Philippines’ Luzon Island—has been a persistent flashpoint in China-Philippines relations since China seized control of the shoal in 2012.

The Philippines government on Tuesday protested against Chinese escalations over the South China Sea, announcing baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal

China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims

China establishes baselines around Scarborough Shoal, intensifying maritime tensions with the Philippines amid recent legal disputes.

China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that's likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday posted online geographic coordinates for the baselines around Scarborough Shoal.