China has just announced that it will hold a major exercise in the South China Sea (Vietnam calls it the East Sea) from August 6-10 to “respond to military provocations from the US and some other countries.”
Previously, on August 4, the Hainan Provincial Customs Department (China) announced that ships were banned from entering an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers in the northern part of the South China Sea to serve military exercises.
China’s “forbidden zone” stretches from the waters off the southeast coast of Hainan Island to the waters around the Paracels (which China calls Xisha and Vietnam calls Hoang Sa), which means that the exercise area is still larger than Hainan Island, according to the Global Times.
This area covers half of the Paracels that Vietnam claims.
China’s state-run Global Times reported that the exercise is expected to be similar to last year’s, in which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted live fire with anti-aircraft ballistic missiles which are known as the “Aircraft Carrier Killer.”
This move by China is in response to the fact that the US “is holding large-scale military exercises aimed at China, and a number of countries including the UK, Germany and India plan to send or have sent their warships to the South China Sea,” the Global Times wrote.
The details of the exercise have not been made public, but are also in response to what China calls “recent provocations,” and that China is ready with “hunting guns to fight the swarm wolf wanting to harm China’s core interests,” the Global Times added.
Vietnam’s reaction
On the afternoon of August 5, Spokeswoman of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang spoke out against the news that China was conducting drills in the Paracels.
“Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal basis to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa [Spratlys] in accordance with international law,” Hang said.
According to Hang, China’s conduct of military exercises in the Hoang Sa archipelago has violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over these archipelagos, going against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and complicating the situation, not conducive to the current negotiations between China and ASEAN on a code of conduct (COC) between the parties in the sea.
“Vietnam demands that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa, stop and not repeat similar violations that further complicate the situation in the East Sea,” said Hang.
Regarding India’s announcement of sending four warships to the South China Sea to participate in multilateral and bilateral exercises, including Vietnam, Ms. Hang said that Vietnam’s consistent policy is that its maritime activities of countries inside and outside the region need to strictly comply with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, at the same time, make responsible contributions to the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, order, respect for the law, cooperation at sea for common interests, in line with the aspirations of countries in the region and the international community.”
Activities of the US and other countries in the South China Sea
On Tuesday, the United States kicked off naval and amphibious exercises 2021, considered the largest since the Cold War. The move is intended to send a message to Russia and China, according to US military media outlet Stars and Stripes.
With the participation of combat units in 17 different time zones, the US wants through this exercise to show that the US can simultaneously address challenges in the Black Sea, eastern Mediterranean, South China Sea and the East China Sea while also thwarting its efforts to thin out its military force, and the United States could prevent China from reunifying Taiwan or taking over the Diaoyu Islands that Japan currently controls, according to James R. Holmes, President of JC Wylie in Maritime Strategy at U.S. Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
The exercise also aims to test U.S. operational methods and technologies, such as reducing large ships and advanced systems, to create a fast and effective response force designed to withstand losses and continued fighting without any significant impact.
About 36 ships will take part in the exercise. Six units of the Navy and Marine Corps Command, five units of the United States Fleet Forces Command and three units of the Marine Expeditionary Force will participate.
Previously, a group of British warships had visited the waters in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia from the end of July 2021.
This is the British Navy’s aircraft carrier battle group, led by the ship HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The Royal Navy conducted exercises with the Singapore Navy and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated its intention to conduct the “Freedom of Navigation” exercise in the South China Sea.
South China Sea: The Battle of Scarborough Shoal
Earlier this month, on August 2, the Indian Defense Ministry announced that it would send a group of four warships to the South China Sea for a two-month mission, including exercises with Quad partners and regional countries, according to Reuters.
The group of warships will leave India from the beginning of this month.
The group, consisting of a guided-missile destroyer, a missile frigate, an anti-submarine ship and a missile corvette, will participate in a variety of exercises during its two-month mission, including naval exercises. Malabar 2021 with US, Japanese and Australian forces.
This fleet will also conduct bilateral exercises with countries along the South China Sea.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
Source: https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam-58111257
