The US continues to strengthen its military deployment in the South China Sea and is deliberately pushing up regional tensions, China's defense ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Spokesperson Tan Kefei made the remark in response to media reports about a US-Philippines joint statement objecting to China's maritime claims and "provocative activities" in the South China Sea. US and Philippine armed forces unleashed a volley of missiles on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr watched from a four-story tower as a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) fired rockets at a decommissioned navy corvette in the waters just a few miles off its western province of Zambales. It was the first time the annual US-Philippines "Balikatan" exercises featured live fire drills at sea, at a location just a few hours by boat from one of the world's most contested maritime features, the Scarborough Shoal, which China has occupied for more than a decade. Military from both countries have said the exercises across the Philippines, which include sites facing Taiwan, were not targeted at any country.