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Zhenhua Lu

China said it was conducting a military drill over the South China Sea as tensions between Beijing and the waters’ other claimants continued to simmer.
The maritime safety agency in Sansha – on Woody Island, known as Yongxing Island in China, the largest of the disputed Paracel Islands – said it had closed an area of the sea for a five-day military drill near the Spratly Islands from Saturday.
Sailing into the area, near Macclesfield Bank and Spratly Bank, was prohibited during that period, it said. Macclesfield Bank, called the Zhongsha Islands in China, is an underwater atoll also claimed by the Philippines.
The announcement coincided with US reports that China had been conducting a series of anti-ship ballistic missile tests in the South China Sea.

American broadcaster NBC News reported on Tuesday that Chinese military personnel had carried out the first of the missile tests over the weekend, firing at least one missile into the sea.
An American official said the window for testing would last until Wednesday, and that they expected the Chinese military to carry out another test in that time, the report said, without elaborating on the details of the testing or the type of missile.
The United States has naval vessels in the South China Sea but the official told NBC that these were not close to where the weekend test took place, and were not in danger. But they described the test as “concerning”.
The official, who was not authorised to speak about the testing, could not say whether the anti-ship missiles being tested represented a new capability for the Chinese military, the report said.




China’s announcement of a drill and the reported missile testing come amid tensions between China and the US on issues ranging from military matters to trade.
On Saturday, President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, with Xi telling Trump that “at present China-US relations have encountered some difficulties, which are not in the interests of both sides”.
“China and the US should not fall into a so-called trap of conflict and confrontation, but should promote each other and develop together,” he said.
China claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea and has been embroiled in territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian countries, including US ally the Philippines.
The US continues to challenge China’s maritime claims by sailing near and flying over disputed waters in the area.
In April, Beijing and Manila engaged in a diplomatic stand-off over the presence of about 275 Chinese vessels near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, prompting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to demand that China “lay off the island”.
In early June, conflict erupted again when a Chinese fishing vessel collide with a smaller Philippine boat anchored near the disputed Reed Bank, sinking the Philippine vessel. China and the Philippines agreed to conduct a joint inquiry into the incident.
Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military analyst, said it was necessary for the Chinese military to conduct drills and tests to improve its readiness to defend its “core interest” in the South China Sea.
“Countries outside the region continue to stir up the issue through so-called freedom of navigation operations and close surveillance, threatening China’s national security,” Song said. “The Chinese military must fight back at those provocations.”


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South China Sea

Beijing announces drill in South China Sea as US official reports missile sighting

The drill was announced by China’s maritime safety agency, on Woody Island. Photo: Handout

graphic for online Map of Woody Island Paracel Islands

China accused of entering ‘grey zone’ between war and peace to assert control in disputed waters

A protest in Manila against the recent sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese vessel. Photo: EPA-EFE

FILE PHOTO: The logo of China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is pictured at its headquarters in Beijing, China April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA. GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD

graphic for online The overlapping claims of China and the Philippines in the South China Sea Guangzhou I-long Kong TAIWAN Chinese nine dash claim Hainan Island Paracel Islands VIETNAM West Philippine Luzon Sea Manila PHILIPPINES Spratly Islands Palawan Philippines claim PACIFIC OCEAN 200km TWA/SCMP

In this Monday, April 15, 2019, photo released by Japan Defense Ministry, China's H-6 bomber jet flies over the East China Sea, taken by a Japan Air Self-Defense Force jet during its scramble. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday that its fighter jets scrambled five Chinese warplanes - four H-6 bombers and Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft - in the East China Sea. (Japan Defense Ministry via AP)

Japan protests Chinese activity near disputed East China Sea islands

The disputed islands in the East China Sea are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Photo: Kyodo

Philippine fishermen protest Chinese harvesting of giant clams on Scarborough Shoal in further South China Sea dispute

A Philippine boat fishes during sunset at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in April 2017. Photo: Reuters

Protesters burn a mock Chinese national flag during a rally outside the Chinese Consulate at the financial district of Makati, metropolitan Manila, Philippines to mark Independence Day on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. The Philippine defense secretary says an anchored Filipino fishing boat has sunk in the disputed South China Sea after being hit by a suspected Chinese vessel which then abandoned the 22 Filipino crewmen. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

China tests missile – but here’s why it wasn’t a next-generation JL-3

Smoke from a missile trail seen from Jinan city on Sunday prompted speculation that China had tested its next-generation long-range weapon. Photo: Weibo

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe makes a speech at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, on June 2, 2019. (Kyodo)==Kyodo

News

China

Military

The Chinese maritime safety agency says it has closed an area of the South China Sea for a five-day military exercise
US official tells NBC that ‘concerning’ missile testing is taking place during the same period


The Chinese maritime safety agency says it has closed an area of the South China Sea for a five-day military exercise, while US official tells NBC that ‘concerning’ missile testing is taking place during the same period.


Beijing announces drill in South China Sea as US official reports missile sighting

The Chinese maritime safety agency says it has closed an area of the South China Sea for a five-day military exercise US official tells NBC that ‘concerning’ missile testing is taking place during the same period

The Chinese maritime safety agency says it has closed an area of the South China Sea for a five-day military exercise

US official tells NBC that ‘concerning’ missile testing is taking place during the same period