Chinese Military to Hold Month-Long Drill in Occupied South China Sea

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will begin military exercises in the South China Sea — which China illegally claims is entirely within its territory — on Monday, in a move Chinese social media framed as a message to the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

China’s claims in the South China Sea span over the sovereign territory of five countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The government of the Philippines sued China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, a venue open only to state claimants, and received a favorable ruling in 2016 which affirmed the illegality of Beijing’s claims. China has since openly vowed to defy the ruling and the Philippines, under a new presidential administration, has done little to challenge China’s continued presence in its waters.

Recent satellite images suggest China has embarked upon further illegal construction operations in parts of Vietnam and the Philippines throughout the time of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, when the territorial dispute had largely disappeared from news headlines.

The state-run Global Times newspaper announced the month-long military drills in the sea on Sunday and framed them as a message to Washington, more than one to Manila or Hanoi. The Chinese military will ban all non-PLA ships from entering the territory used for the drill for the entire month of March.

“The exercises come at a time when the US has started to again frequently conduct close-up reconnaissance operations on China’s coastal regions as well as on hydrological environments in the South China Sea,” the Global Times noted. The U.S. Navy has regularly conducted what are known as “Freedom of Navigation Operations” (FONOPs) in the South China Sea for years, meant to challenge the idea that the territory in question is exclusively Chinese. The FONOPs are conducted openly and legally.

The Global Times appeared to take issue not with the FONOPs, but with alleged “reconnaissance” exercises by both the United States and France, accusing them of “eavesdropping” on the PLA. The newspaper concluded, citing Communist Party-approved “experts,” that China should “enhance combat preparedness” to confront the U.S. military.

Perhaps in response to China’s announcement, Taiwan — a sovereign state that China claims illegally as a rogue province — announced live-fire exercises in the South China Sea on Monday. Focus Taiwan noted that the country had enhanced its military exercises and increased the presence of its Coast Guard in disputed territory in response to growing numbers of illegal Chinese aircraft excursions into Taiwanese airspace since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

“The drills are being staged amid almost daily flights by Chinese military aircraft into airspace around Taiwan, in particular in the southwest part of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) near the Pratas Islands in recent months,” Focus Taiwan noted.

Recent satellite images suggest China has embarked upon further illegal construction operations in parts of Vietnam and the Philippines throughout the time of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, when the territorial dispute had largely disappeared from news headlines.

The state-run Global Times newspaper announced the month-long military drills in the sea on Sunday and framed them as a message to Washington, more than one to Manila or Hanoi. The Chinese military will ban all non-PLA ships from entering the territory used for the drill for the entire month of March.

“The exercises come at a time when the US has started to again frequently conduct close-up reconnaissance operations on China’s coastal regions as well as on hydrological environments in the South China Sea,” the Global Times noted. The U.S. Navy has regularly conducted what are known as “Freedom of Navigation Operations” (FONOPs) in the South China Sea for years, meant to challenge the idea that the territory in question is exclusively Chinese. The FONOPs are conducted openly and legally.

The Global Times appeared to take issue not with the FONOPs, but with alleged “reconnaissance” exercises by both the United States and France, accusing them of “eavesdropping” on the PLA. The newspaper concluded, citing Communist Party-approved “experts,” that China should “enhance combat preparedness” to confront the U.S. military.

Perhaps in response to China’s announcement, Taiwan — a sovereign state that China claims illegally as a rogue province — announced live-fire exercises in the South China Sea on Monday. Focus Taiwan noted that the country had enhanced its military exercises and increased the presence of its Coast Guard in disputed territory in response to growing numbers of illegal Chinese aircraft excursions into Taiwanese airspace since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

“The drills are being staged amid almost daily flights by Chinese military aircraft into airspace around Taiwan, in particular in the southwest part of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) near the Pratas Islands in recent months,” Focus Taiwan noted.

Photo: MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty Images

Link: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/03/01/chinese-military-hold-month-long-drill-occupied-south-china-sea/