Fleet sails in as patrols stepped up
Beijing has stepped up patrols of the South China Sea, sending a fleet of four maritime surveillance ships to the disputed waters, state media said.
The State Oceanic Administration sent the Haijian 83, one of its two biggest surveillance ships, equipped with helicopters, and the Haijian 84, its newest surveillance vessel launched only last month, and two other vessels to the sea, where China is embroiled in territorial disputes with many of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Xinhua said.
It said the fleet was scheduled to sail 4,500 kilometres and would conduct joint drills if conditions were suitable.
It is the fourth time this year that the administration has sent a fleet into the South China Sea.
Professor Wang Hanling, an expert in maritime affairs and international law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that apart from defending China's territorial sovereignty, the fleet also needed to protect the safety of China's oil exploration activities in the South China Sea.
'Protecting the safety of our country's oil and natural gas exploration and drilling projects in the South and East China seas is also one of the missions of our maritime surveillance force,' Wang said.
Last month, state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp sent the Ocean Oil 981, the country's first domestically made semi-submersible deep-sea drilling platform, and the Offshore Oil 201, the world's first deep-water pipe-laying barge, to undisputed waters in the South China Sea.
'The territorial dispute situation in the South China Sea has been complicated since Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants continue making provocative moves to challenge our sovereignty,' Wang said.
'It's very urgent for Beijing to take practical action to protect our national interest there.'
The administration sent six surveillance ships, including the Haijian 50, the sister ship of the Haijian 83, and the Haijian 66, its fastest surveillance vessel, to the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea in March, Xinhua reported.
It added that the Haijian 66 had successfully kept unauthorised Japanese survey ships out of waters under Chinese jurisdiction.
