China conducts air, sea drills in South China Sea

BEIJING – China said it conducted air and sea drills in the South China Sea yesterday as it stakes an increasingly assertive claim to virtually the whole sea despite rival claims by neighbors.

The live-ammunition drills involved more than 100 ships, dozens of aircraft, information warfare units as well as the nuclear force, the state-backed

China Military Online said in a report posted on the defense ministry’s website.

It did not specify where exactly the exercises took place.

China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and rejects the rival claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The United States has called on claimants to settle differences through talks and has said its Pacific Fleet aims to protect sea lanes critical to US trade with Southeast Asia and the oil-rich Middle East.

China rejects US involvement in the dispute and its more assertive approach recently, which has included land reclamation and construction on disputed reefs, has raised tension.

The latest exercises focused on integrating information warfare systems with air and naval forces, as well as testing the combat effectiveness of new weapons and equipment, China

Military Online said. –