Hong Kong-based warship joins South China Sea live-fire drill
- The PLA garrison in the city released video footage of the exercise that one observer said was intended to send a warning to Taiwan
- US Navy is also continuing to manoeuvre in the region, including an exercise led by the USS Ronald Reagan
The People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong released footage of a live-fire drill in the South China Sea on Sunday, a day after the US navy said a strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan had carried out operations in the area.
The footage included images of a Hong Kong-based warship, the Huizhou, firing cannons and torpedoes, and also showed military personnel carrying out anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations.
The garrison said anti-submarine training was one of the main elements of the drill.
01:25
Hong Kong-based warship joins drill in South China Sea
The Huizhou is one of the two warships based in Hong Kong and the corvette is mainly used for coastal defensive purposes. As well as torpedoes it is also armed with surface-to-air missiles.
Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said the drill was a symbolic action, mainly designed as a warning to independence-leaning forces in Taiwan as the self-ruled island edges closer towards Washington.
Zhou said that while China is not happy with the US, its priority is to rein in the island’s independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen.
