The country conducted military “combat patrols” in the disputed South China Sea, its army said, the same day as joint drills by the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia.
Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said it was organsing “joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea”.
“All military activities that mess up the situation in the South China Sea and create hotspots are under control,” it said in a statement, in an apparent swipe at the other drills being held in the waters.
The exercises take place days before US President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan.
Top US officials have repeatedly declared the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines against an armed attack in the South China Sea – to the consternation of Beijing.
China claims territorial sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea and has been increasingly assertive in the region in recent years.
China’s Coast Guard said Saturday it had “handled” a situation on Thursday at a disputed reef where several ships from the Philippines were engaged in “illegal” operations.
Beijing has brushed aside competing territorial claims by several South-East Asian countries in the South China Sea – a crucial route for global trade – as well as an international ruling that declared its stance baseless.
The drills conducted yesterday by the Philippines, United States, Japan and Australia are intended to “(ensure) that all countries are free to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a joint statement with other defence chiefs.
Named the “Maritime Cooperative Activity”, the drills will include naval and air force units from all four countries, the joint statement said.
The Japanese embassy in Manila said in a statement that “anti-submarine warfare training” would be included in the drills.
Last week, Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived at the Philippine island of Palawan, which faces the hotly contested waters.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos issued a strongly worded statement on March 28, vowing the country would not be “cowed into silence, submission, or subservience”.
Talks between the Philippines and Japan for a defence pact that would allow the countries to deploy troops on each other’s territory were “still ongoing”, a spokesman for the Philippine foreign affairs department told reporters last week.
Manila already has a similar agreement with Australia and the United States. — AFP
