Troops from the U.S. and the Philippines sank a decommissioned China-made ship during a simulated strike in the South China Sea on Wednesday.

The soldiers conducted a coordinated land, aerial, and marine strike on the Philippine Navy's BRP Caliraya, a tanker decommissioned in 2020, for the annual Balikatan Exercises off the Laoag City in Ilocos Norte province on May 8.

Aerial footage shows the small tanker engulfed in smoke and slowly dipping into the water after being hit by the barrage of missiles, rockets, and artillery.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it deployed the BRP Jose Rizal, an Air Force FA-50, and an AW-109 aircraft, while the U.S. dispatched an F-16 fighter jet and an AC-130 gunship for the maritime drill.

U.S. Marine Colonel Douglas Krugman, who directed the strike, said: 'This exercise was about the collective capability of our combined fires networks and increasing interoperability to sense and shoot targets from a variety of Philippine, U.S. and Australian land, sea and air platforms.'

Philippine Exercise Director Major General Marvin Licudine said the drill showed the combined capabilities of the Philippines-United States alliance.

He said: 'It sends a clear message of deterrence in the region, promoting peace and stability in our waters.'

The strike simulation comes amid territorial tensions between the Philippines and Communist China in the South China Sea.

It was held as part of the 2024 Balikatan Exercises, said to be the biggest iteration yet involving some 16,700 soldiers from both allied nations. It will run from April 22 to May 10, and will be carried out beyond the Philippines' 12-nautical-mile territorial zone.

However, China warned that the move will only worsen tensions in the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: 'Attempts to bring in external forces to safeguard its so-called security will only lead to greater insecurity for itself.'

The Philippines has seen a number of clashes with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea in recent months.

Expansionist China currently lays claim over almost the entire South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. But a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 deemed its claims groundless.

The Communist surveillance state - accused of genocide for its crimes against the Uyghur population - has been steadily increasing its influence in recent years through investment in developing countries.

However, American Senators have taken steps to prevent the rogue state's influence in the United States by battling to ban the social media app TikTok, which many claim is used to harvest data for Beijing.