The Chinese military has announced that it will hold five simultaneous military exercises at different locations starting Monday (September 28). This is the second time in the last two months that China has held multiple exercises of this type in multiple locations at the same time.
Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with a significant increase in bilateral military exercises and various military activities in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, and high tensions in the region.
A navigational warning posted on the website of the China Maritime Safety Administration (CMSA) said that Chinese troops will conduct a military drill in part of the Paracel (Paracel) Islands in the South China Sea and another in part of the East China Sea starting Monday, as well as a drill in the northern part of the Bohai Sea.
The announcement said live firing will take place in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. The firing in the Yellow Sea will continue until September 30, while the other three seas will be drilled for one day only.
The announcement also said that all ships will not be allowed to enter the waters during the exercise.
The drills are particularly noteworthy in light of the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Reuters says that while it is common for the Communist Party to hold regular military exercises to improve the combat capabilities of its troops, it is unusual for it to conduct multiple exercises at the same time.
Last month, China also held simultaneous exercises in the Bohai Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the disputed South China Sea. According to Chinese military experts, this arrangement is rare.
During last month’s military exercises, U.S. U-2 reconnaissance planes broke directly into the Chinese no-fly zone to conduct reconnaissance activities. The Chinese side made “solemn” representations to the United States.
In the middle of this month, during U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Crunch’s visit to Taiwan, China sent dozens of fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance aircraft across the centerline of the Taiwan Strait for several days to harass and deter, resulting in a sharp rise in military tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s military warned that such actions on the Chinese side could easily lead to an accidental shootout.
Beyond the Taiwan Sea, tensions and friction between China and the parties to the South China Sea sovereignty dispute have further intensified. Earlier this month, an Indonesian patrol boat was involved in a standoff with a Chinese coastguard vessel. The Chinese Coast Guard vessel had been circling Indonesia’s EEZ for three days.
The Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam have also been involved in disputes with Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea. Negotiations between ASEAN and China over the sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea have stalled.
The U.S. State Department has criticized China for its self-defeating militarization of the Spratly Islands (Spratlys), saying that the facilities Beijing has established in the region are a platform for “coercion” of neighboring countries.
U.S. State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised during his 2015 visit to the White House that China would not militarize the Spratlys.
Instead, Ortagus said, “China has embarked on a frantic and provocative militarization campaign at these disputed sites.”
Otagus cited the deployment of anti-ship cruise missiles, upgraded surveillance capabilities, construction of airstrips and jet fighter hangars, among other things.
The spokesman noted, “(China) is using these militarized facilities as a coercive platform to reinforce its control over the waters.” Otagus, however, said China has no basis for sovereignty in line with international law.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, speaking at the United Nations last Wednesday on the South China Sea sovereignty dispute, said the 2016 ruling by the International Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea sovereignty dispute almost completely negated China’s nine-dash line position in the waters.
This is the first time that Duterte has expressed the Philippines’ firm position on this issue before the UN General Assembly.
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