China deploys warships for navy drills in SCS
BEIJING: China on Tuesday deployed warships including amphibious ones for a naval drill in the disputed waters of the South China Sea (SCS) in the backdrop of the US sending an aircraft carrier group in the maritime zone for a “freedom of the seas” operation.
Three of China’s front-line docking ships, comprising the Wuzhishan, Changbaishan and Kunlunshan of the southern theatre navy, started an exercise focusing on actual combat training and beach landing exercises in the SCS, a state media report said.
More warships from the Chinese Navy are set to join the drill, which is expected to formally begin on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, a notice issued by China’s Maritime Safety Administration prohibited entry into a portion of waters in the Gulf of Tonkin to the west of the Leizhou peninsula in southwestern China from January 27-30.
An American aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt had entered the SCS on Saturday to promote “freedom of the seas”, the US military said, barely days after Joe Biden began his term as president.
China claims nearly the entire SCS, but that claim is disputed by several maritime neighbours including Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia besides Vietnam and Taiwan, which China says is a breakaway region.
“The United States frequently sends aircraft and vessels into the South China Sea to flex its muscles,” foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, told reporters on Monday.
“This is not conducive to peace and stability in the region,” Zhao added.