Chinese navy live-fire drills a ‘timely and forceful response’ to Philippines’ tilt to US, expert says
- PLA warships simulate attacks on ‘armed enemy fishing boats’ in South China Sea ahead of annual Balikatan military exercises
- War games mimicking ‘complex battlefield environments’ show Beijing wants to bolster territorial claims in recent maritime disputes
Chinese state media said the exercises, conducted by the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), were “high-intensity and multi-course real combat training” aimed at boosting the military’s combat capabilities in “complex battlefield environments”.
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According to a report on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday, several Chinese warships including Xueshan and Lushan were sent to an unnamed area of the South China Sea to sink enemy targets such as armed militia fishing boats.
Other PLA ships, including Guangzhou, Dali and Chenzhou, have also recently conducted daytime and nighttime exercises separately in the South China Sea, the southern command said on Saturday.
The nationalist tabloid Global Times newspaper said the drills were designed to “test the contingency response capabilities of officers and soldiers, their ability to actually use weapons and their command coordination in complex battlefield environments”.
The paper said training modules included “dealing with complex and changeable enemy situations at sea and in the air – such as suspicious targets, armed enemy fishing boats, weapons threats, and other hostile elements”.
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