China on Thursday condemned “provocative” actions by the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea, after Washington said an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson was conducting drills with the Philippine Navy. Manila and Washington “carried out provocative military activities in the South China Sea with the intention of flaunting their military might”, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, descibring it as “detrimental to management and control of the maritime situation and related disputes”.