简体中文
China will hold military exercises this week in the South China Sea ahead of an international court ruling on territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The Maritime Safety Administration of China on Sunday posted a notice on its official website, saying that military exercises in certain waters of the South China Sea will be held from Tuesday to July 11, and all civilian vessels will be prohibited from those areas.
The exercises will finish one day before the UN arbitration court announces its decision on the South China Sea case initiated by the Philippines against China.
It said the exercises would be held in an area east of Hainan Island and encompassing the Paracels, which are controlled by Beijing.
Soldiers from China's People's Liberation Army Navy watch as the USS Blue Ridge arrive at a port in Shanghai on May 6, 2016. Photo: AP
While the case filed by the Philippines does not cover the Paracels, the timing of the drill is seen as a move by Beijing to showcase its military prowess, said the South China Morning Post.
According to the SCMP, Ashley Townshend, a research fellow at the University of Sydney, said the timing of the drills suggests China’s intention of “projecting an image of defiance” ahead of the ruling, but it does not necessarily foreshadow an assertive response.
Chinese tourists take souvenir photos with the national flag during a trip to the Parcel Islands. Photo: AP
“Deploying military forces to the South China Sea is one way that China can appear to look strong without actually raising tensions. Such a show of force is probably intended to reassure domestic audiences that Beijing is not buckling under international pressure. It is also a signal to the US and Asean of China’s resolve to step-up military presence in the South China Sea regardless of the verdict,” Townshend said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“While provocative, undertaking naval exercises in international waters around the Paracel Islands is neither illegal nor likely to be escalatory. Beijing may wager that naval drills are a sufficiently muscular way to register its opposition to the court, without requiring more assertive measures like building on Scarborough Shoal or setting up an air-defence identification zone in the South China Sea,” he added.
The SCMP reported that Zhu Feng, a foreign relations expert at Nanjing University, said the move could be seen as a show of attitude towards the ruling, but he saw it more as response to the deployment of three destroyers to the South China Sea by the United States late last month.
The Defence Ministry of China said on Thursday it was aware of the movements of US warships when asked about the three guided-missile Aegis destroyers conducting “warning and surveillance” in the area.
The Hong Kong Economic Times reported Wednesday that warships from the three fleets of the Chinese navy were spotted at the Sanya military port, Hainan. The warships allegedly included the guided missile destroyer Shenyang under the North China Sea Fleet, the guided missile destroyer Ningbo and the missile frigate Chaozhou under the East China Sea Fleet.
According to the Global Times, an official from the defense ministry told that this is a routine exercise according to an annual plan.
Liu Feng, an expert on Chinese maritime issues said: "the timing of the exercises in the South China Sea is subtle, but it's not necessary to link it with the arbitration, because the exercise is a routine activity that was planned a long time ago," according to the Global Times.
The situation in the South China Sea is sensitive. However, given the sluggish global economy, it is more essential to improve regional cooperation, instead of making trouble like the US and Japan, Liu said. China will continue constructing on reefs in the area and improve naval power in order to maintain regional peace and show the outsiders that China has the capability to maintain its own sovereign security, he said.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST/THE GLOBAL TIMES)
