China to hold maritime exercises in West Phl Sea

MANILA, Philippines - The Chinese Navy will conduct maritime exercises in the West Philippine Sea amid a long-standing territorial dispute in the area.

Reports posted on the Chinese defense ministry website said more than 20 types of exercises would be conducted including maritime confrontation, open-sea mobile combat, law enforcement missions and open-sea naval commanding.

“The training area will include the Yellow, East China and South China seas (West Philippine Sea), the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the sea area east of Taiwan,” a report by state-owned news agency Xinhua said.

Sought for comment, Defense department spokesman Peter Galvez said the exercises should not cause problems as long as they are held in international waters.

A Chinese Navy fleet reportedly departed Tuesday morning and consisted of three ships namely the Qingdao missile destroyer and the missile frigates Yantai and Yancheng.

The ships are carrying three helicopters, all from the North China Sea Fleet under the People’s Liberation Army Navy, Xinhua reported.

The report quoted sources as saying that the fleet would conduct “multi-program training sessions” in the sea area where China has been carrying out regular patrols

Tian Zhong, the fleet commander, told Xinhua the training is a normal practice and is in  keeping  with China’s efforts to improve the Navy’s capabilities.

The fleet aims to boost its capabilities in carrying out diversified military missions through the open-sea training, Tian added.

Xinhua reported that the Chinese fleet held last Tuesday a four-hour maritime confrontation drill in the Yellow Sea.

A Chinese fleet is also expected to hold drills in the Pacific after sailing through the island chain. The report said the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy conducted seven similar drills last year.

The Philippines is claiming several islets, shoals, reefs and sandbars in the West Philippine Sea. China claims the entire area while Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Philippine officials have cited the need to modernize the Philippine military, saying this would show that the country is serious in asserting its territorial claims.

The Philippines has brought China to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea arbitral tribunal, asserting that Beijing’s nine-dash line claim is unlawful and encompasses practically the entire West Philippine Sea.