PLA warplanes rain down thousands of munitions in S. China Sea shooting exercise

A fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command takes off for a round-the-clock training exercise on April 20, 2021.- China Military Online

BEIJING (Global Times): The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy announced on Monday (May 24) that it recently conducted a live-fire exercise in the South China Sea, in which warplanes rained down thousands of munitions at maritime targets as the pilots enhanced their sea assault and precision strike capabilities.

While the announcement came only a few days after a US warship trespassed into Chinese territorial waters in the region, analysts said that it was not a targeted response, since the exercise was a regular one aimed at enhancing combat readiness, and a single US vessel is too weak to be a proper target.