China on Thursday showed its fighter jets firing missiles in the South China Sea, where military exercises are being held to compete with the United States.
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The drills followed a tense standoff between China and Manila on a disputed coral reef, in which ships from both countries collided and Chinese ships sprayed water on Philippine boats.
Last month, China expressed growing frustration and anger over the Philippines’ unexpectedly bold tactics and warned its neighbors to be “careful.”
And footage shared Thursday by state broadcaster CCTV and the Chinese military showed what it called a “live-fire training exercise” taking place at sea.
One video shared by the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command showed a jet taking off and firing a missile to hit a target.
Neither state media nor the military said when the footage was taken, only that it happened recently.
But the announcement came a day after China announced a naval and air force deployment to the South China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Provocative”
The exercise coincided with a two-day exercise by the United States and the Philippines in disputed waters involving the carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson.
The United States said the exercise “strengthens our ability to coordinate on maritime domain awareness and other common security interests.”
Xerxes Trinidad, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ public relations chief, told AFP on Thursday that the clash occurred between Recto Bank and Scarborough Shoal, where clashes occurred last month.
The Chinese government condemned the move as a “provocative military activity” aimed at “a show of military power.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the exercise was “harmful to the management and control of the maritime situation and related conflicts.”
“We call on relevant countries to stop their irresponsible actions and sincerely respect the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said.
He vowed that the Chinese government “will continue to firmly protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, ignoring international court rulings that say its claims have no legal basis.
It has militarized itself, deploying boats to patrol busy waterways and building artificial islands to strengthen its claims.
China also typically uses its coast guard to enforce its claims in the area, but military exercises are not uncommon, with the Chinese Navy conducting “regular” drills in late November. ing.
Make your presence stand out
One expert told AFP that Beijing is trying to turn the South China Sea into a “China-controlled waterway and a strategic choke point for other countries.”
“The South China Sea is… becoming an important defense zone for China,” said Michael Laska, an assistant professor and military expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
“China regularly sends warships to track U.S. aircraft carriers in the South China Sea and monitor multilateral military activity in the region, but it is highly unusual for such exercises to be publicly announced. ” said Duan Dang, a maritime analyst based in Vietnam. South China Sea, he told AFP.
China maintains that the Philippines is responsible for the escalation of tensions, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that Manila “defied its own words, changed its policies, violated China’s sovereignty, repeatedly provoked it, and created a complicated situation.” said.
In December, Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China will take resolute measures against violations of our sovereignty and provocations, and resolutely protect our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
(AFP)