China’s military announced on Sunday that it had conducted air and sea patrols, asserting control over activities that “disrupt the South China Sea,” in response to naval exercises by the US and its allies.
Comments from China
The statement, issued by the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command, emphasised the organisation of patrols to manage all military activities that could potentially disturb the South China Sea and escalate tensions.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it had “dispatched its front-line air and naval forces to closely monitor” the situation, which it said “was fully under control.” “The troops of the Theater Command always remain on high alert to resolutely defend China’s national sovereignty, security, and maritime rights and interests, and safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it underscored.
US Drills
The Chinese move comes after defence chiefs from the US, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines declared joint exercises aimed at safeguarding the rule of law and asserting rights to navigate through the South China Sea.
The Southern Theater Command of the PLA organized a joint naval and air combat patrol in the South China Sea on Sunday, the PLA announced, on the same day of joint drills attended by the US, the Philippines, Japan and Australia, which analysts said was a highly defiant and… pic.twitter.com/P1stKcMoQF
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 7, 2024
The maritime exercises, slated for one day, will include communication drills and officer-of-the-watch manoeuvres in Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) within the South China Sea, Arsenio Andolong, the spokesperson for the Philippines’ defence ministry, said.
Participating in the exercises are the USS Mobile, an American littoral combat ship, the Australian frigate HMAS Warramunga, the Japanese destroyer JS Akebono, and two Philippine warships.
According to a joint statement, the manoeuvres covered the boundary of western and northern command areas, enhancing the interoperability of armed forces doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
Maritime Tensions
Tensions in the South China Sea have been fueled by China’s longstanding territorial disputes with several Southeast Asian nations. Particularly, skirmishes with the Philippines intensified last year. The US has demonstrated support for the Philippines through joint patrols, a move criticised by China as interference in regional disputes.
Interestingly, neither China nor the US and its allies directly mentioned each other in their respective statements. However, the latter have reaffirmed their adherence to a 2016 international arbitration ruling that nullified China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.
The escalation of tensions in the disputed waters is also expected to feature prominently in discussions when US President Joe Biden hosts his Japanese and Philippine counterparts at a summit in the White House later this week.