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Minnie Chan

Beijing announced suddenly on Thursday that it would hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait next week, revealing the decision just hours after staging the biggest naval parade in the country’s history.
Military observers said the drills sent a message to Taipei and were also a show of support for Russia to put pressure on the United States.
Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Dong said military conflict between the US and Russia in Syria could “break out at any time” and the drill in the Taiwan Strait was meant to be a show of support to China’s strategic partner Russia, diverting attention from the crisis in Syria after US President Donald Trump threatened a strike against Syrian forces.
Chinese navy stages double show of strength as US strike group drills in disputed South China Sea
“It’s very likely that as Russia’s strategic partner, China [is using its] navy to show its political support to Russia at such a sensitive moment,” Wong said.
“The People’s Liberation Army Navy was ordered to move their drills to the Taiwan Strait to test their emergency response in combat.” 

The live-fire drill is expected to take place on April 18, making it the first naval exercise in the waters since September 2015, which occurred in the lead-up to the self-ruled island’s presidential election. 
The election was won by the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate, Tsai Ing-wen, who has yet to recognise the “1992 consensus”, which Beijing says is the foundation for cross-strait dialogue. 


It’s very likely that as Russia’s strategic partner, China [is using its] navy to show its political support to Russia at such a sensitive moment
Military expert Antony Wong Dong
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also chairs the powerful Central Military Commission, was on the southern island of Hainan to inspect the naval parade, which involved China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, about 50 other warships as well as more than 10,000 troops and nearly 80 aircraft, including jets, bombers and early-warning planes.
On board the Liaoning for the first time since the vessel was declared combat-ready, Xi urged the troops to stay vigilant and be ready to defend China’s sovereignty and national interests, as well as safeguard regional peace and stability, according to the defence ministry.

The display in the South China Sea followed exercises by Chinese and US strike groups in the contested waters.
On Tuesday, the USS Theodore Roosevelt staged what it described as a routine training exercise en route to the Philippines in the waters, with 20 F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets performing a take-off and landing exercise.
US Navy’s new Pacific Command chief expected to step up drive to counter China’s submarine power
Miliary experts said the parade, which involved most of the Chinese navy’s advanced warships and aircraft, sent a strong message to the outside world that the PLA was on alert for growing challenges in the waters, where China has territorial disputes with several neighbours.
Song Zhongping, a former member of China’s Second Artillery Corps, said all branches of the military had ramped up live-fire drills since Xi presided over another large-scale military parade at the Zhurihe Combined Tactics Training Base in Inner Mongolia last year. 
US aircraft carrier sparks regional fears as it challenges Beijing in South China Sea





“The drill near the waters of Sanya in the South China Sea also declare the PLA’s firm determination to defend its sovereignty in the contested area, and the navy’s capacity to protect China’s interests along the belt and road,” Song said, referring to the country’s ambitious international infrastructure and energy initiative.


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China announces surprise live-fire Taiwan Strait drills after massive navy parade

Beijing springs announcement of exercises ‘in message to Taipei and show of support to Russia’

新华社照片，三亚，2018年4月12日
    习近平出席南海海域海上阅兵
    4月12日上午，中央军委在南海海域隆重举行海上阅兵，展示人民海军崭新面貌，激发强国强军坚定信念。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平检阅部队并发表重要讲话。这是习近平检阅海上编队。
    新华社记者 李刚 摄

新华社照片，三亚，2018年4月12日
    习近平出席南海海域海上阅兵
    4月12日上午，中央军委在南海海域隆重举行海上阅兵，展示人民海军崭新面貌，激发强国强军坚定信念。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平检阅部队并发表重要讲话。这是习近平同长沙舰部分官兵合影。
    新华社记者 李刚 摄

The Liaoning aircraft carrier and about 50 other warships take part in the parade on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese navy stages double show of strength as US strike group drills in disputed South China Sea

PLA puts aircraft carrier and submarines through their paces as USS Theodore Roosevelt passes through contested waterway

Multi-units under the PLA Navy's Marine Corps conduct landing and loading operations at a naval port in Zhanjiang, southern China’s Guangdong Province, on January 3, 2018. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn

A US Navy crewman monitors on the deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, Tuesday, April 10,2018, in international waters off South China Sea. The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is sailing through the disputed South China Sea in the latest display of America's military might after China built a string of islands with military facilities in the strategic sea it claims almost in its entirety. (AP Photo/Jim Gomez)

JPG for ONLINE

Satellite images show Chinese ships off the coast of Hainan last month. Photo: Reuters

US aircraft carrier sparks regional fears as it challenges China’s military might in South China Sea

Philippine generals and journalists watch from the deck of the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt as a US fighter jet lands on Tuesday, in international waters off South China Sea. Photo: AP 

The USS Theodore Roosevelt sails in the Malacca Strait April 1, 2018. Picture taken April 1, 2018. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anthony J. Rivera/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

Rear Admiral Steve Koehler, left, commander CSG-9 of the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, briefs top Philippine generals led by Lt.Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista, foreground right, Tuesday, April 10,2018, in international waters off South China Sea. The aircraft carrier CVN-71 is sailing through the disputed South China Sea in the latest display of America's military might after China built a string of islands with military facilities in the strategic sea it claims almost in its entirety. (AP Photo/Jim Gomez)

An air traffic controller guides aircraft landing on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, transiting the South China Sea April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Karen Lema

TOPSHOT - US sailors stand on the flight deck while an FA-18 hornet fighter jet takes off, during a routine training aboard US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the South China sea on April 10, 2018. The carrier group Theodore Roosevelt is transiting through the South China sea on its way to the Philippines from Singapore after participating in Operations Inherent Resolve (OIR) and Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS) in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

A busy day on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt while transiting the South China Sea April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Karen Lema

US Navy’s new Pacific Command chief expected to step up drive to counter China’s submarine power

170222-N-MB306-124 SAN DIEGO (February 22, 2017) Adm. Philip S. Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, tours the main deck of the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8). During a familiarization tour, Davidson visited the flight deck, bridge, damage control locker, mission bay and engineering spaces.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary Bell/Released)

China Type 095 submarine. Photo: Handout

Philip “Phil” Scot Davidson is a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who currently serves as Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command. Admiral Davidson is from St. Louis, Missouri. He is a 1982 graduate of the US Naval Academy. He assumed command of US Fleet Forces Command/Naval Forces US Northern Command on December 19, 2014. US Navy

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Beijing springs announcement of exercises ‘in message to Taipei and show of support to Russia’


Beijing springs announcement of exercises after staging the country’s biggest navy parade.


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China announces surprise live-fire Taiwan Strait drills after massive navy parade

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing springs announcement of exercises ‘in message to Taipei and show of support to Russia’

Beijing springs announcement of exercises ‘in message to Taipei and show of support to Russia’