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Laura Zhou

Chinese coastguard and military forces took part in a large land-air-sea emergency rescue exercise near the disputed Woody Island on Thursday, as Beijing continues to assert its claims in the South China Sea.
More than 200 personnel, 15 vessels and two rescue helicopters carried out what was described by the government and state media as “the largest rescue drill in recent years”.
Woody Island, called Yongxing Island by China, is part of the Paracel Islands, a contested archipelago known as the Xisha Islands in Chinese.
Thursday’s drills were co-hosted by the People’s Liberation Army, China Coast Guard and the city government of Sansha, established in 2012 to assert Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The 75-minute drill simulated multiple emergency scenarios based on recent accidents, state broadcaster CCTV said.
These included a collision between a passenger ship and a cargo vessel causing fuel tank leaks, with rescue teams from sea, land and air launching joint operations to put out an onboard fire and contain oil spills.
The exercise also tested underwater search capabilities and the rapid deployment of helicopters for maritime rescue, as well as improved coordination among helicopters, police vessels and civilian ships, according to CCTV. Emergency rescue workers, firefighters and medical workers also took part.
Footage from CCTV showed that the Sansha Zhi Fa 301, a 3,295-tonne patrol ship equipped with water cannons, was part of the drills.
“This is the largest land-sea-air integrated emergency rescue drill held in the city of Sansha in recent years,” the CCTV report said.
The city government also highlighted the scale and scope of the drills.
Ge Guoke, the Communist Party chief of Sansha, told the closing ceremony on Thursday that the “exercise effectively honed Sansha’s maritime emergency rescue team’s combat readiness while comprehensively strengthening search-and-rescue capabilities along international shipping routes”, according to a government statement.
He called for increased emergency rescue capabilities and combat-focused training to “strengthen political position, build a strong force, and prioritise key areas to robustly safeguard Sansha’s construction and development”.
Sansha has its seat of government on Woody Island and oversees much of the contested maritime features in the South China Sea, including the Paracels, the Spratly Islands, called Nansha Islands by China, and Macclesfield Bank.
Beijing claims most of the islands and rocks in the South China Sea and rights over their adjacent waters. Rival claimants to the Spratlys include the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, which also claims the Paracels and calls them the Hoang Sa Islands.
Macclesfield Bank, called Zhongsha Islands by China, is an underwater atoll that is also claimed by the Philippines.
China, Vietnam and the Philippines in particular have steadily pushed for a stronger presence in the region to consolidate their claims in the South China Sea.
Thursday’s drills were held at a time of simmering tensions in the strategic, busy waterway accounting for almost a third of global trade.


According to the Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, Vietnam has been expanding reclamation on its occupied features in the Spratlys, with over 8.5 sq km (3.3 square miles) of new land created between October 2021 and May this year.
Frequent maritime clashes between China and the Philippines have also heightened tensions, with Chinese coastguard vessels accused of using water cannons and their larger size to intimidate Philippine ships and crew.
Last week, the two sides clashed again near the contested Scarborough Shoal, with the Chinese coastguard deploying water cannons to “expel” a Philippine vessel that it said had “ignored repeated warnings and insistently intruded” into Chinese waters near the strategic shoal.
The shoal, which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, is claimed by China as Huangyan Island and has been effectively under its control since 2012.


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Deterring Taiwan conflict a ‘priority’: US national security report

South China Sea

China conducts ‘largest’ military, civilian rescue drill in contested South China Sea

The 75-minute drill is reported to have simulated multiple emergency scenarios based on accidents such as vessel collisions, fire on board and oil spills. Photo: Xinhua

State media and the Sansha government have highlighted the scale and scope of the exercise. Photo: Handout

Chinese forces patrol Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea to ‘defend sovereignty’

Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday shows an island defence drill on a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Photo: CCTV

Philippines and Malaysia sidestep South China Sea claims, seek closer naval ties

Admiral Tansri Zulhelmy Bin Ithnain, chief of Malaysia’s Royal Navy (front row, left), meets with vice-admiral Jose Ma Ambrosio Ezpeleta, flag officer in command of the Philippine Navy (front row, right), in Manila on Wednesday. Photo: Facebook/Philippine Navy

Admiral Tansri Zulhelmy Bin Ithnain, chief of Malaysia’s Royal Navy (left), meets with vice-admiral Jose Ma Ambrosio Ezpeleta, flag officer in command of the Philippine Navy (right), in Manila on Wednesday. Photo: Facebook/Philippine Navy

Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. Malaysia and the Philippines have a standing disagreement over the Malaysian state in Borneo. Photo: Shutterstock

A Chinese coastguard ship clashes with a Philippine fisheries vessel near Sandy Cay in the disputed South China Sea in May. Photo: AP

China warns Philippines against ‘self-inflicted destruction’ by hosting US missile systems

A US Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher deployed in Northern Luzon, the Philippines, on April 8, 2024. Photo: US Army 

PLA patrols in the South China Sea as Philippines, Japan hold joint drills

The Chinese military conducted patrols in the South China Sea on Saturday while a Philippine-Japan joint drill was under way. Photo: PLA Southern Theatre Command

A Philippine Navy helicopter hovers above a Japanese Takanami-class destroyer during a joint drill on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo

News

China

Diplomacy

Exercise off Woody Island in contested Paracels involves more than 200 personnel, 15 vessels and two rescue helicopters, state broadcaster says


Exercise off Woody Island in contested Paracels involves more than 200 personnel, 15 vessels and two rescue helicopters, state broadcaster says.


Vietnam

The Philippines

CCTV

China conducts ‘largest’ military, civilian rescue drill in contested South China Sea

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Exercise off Woody Island in contested Paracels involves more than 200 personnel, 15 vessels and two rescue helicopters, state broadcaster says

Exercise off Woody Island in contested Paracels involves more than 200 personnel, 15 vessels and two rescue helicopters, state broadcaster says