China and Singapore start joint naval drills as Beijing boosts ties in Asia
- Covid-19 pandemic disrupted China’s plans for greater military cooperation with its neighbours to counter US pressure
- Beijing aims to counter growing challenge from Washington to its claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea
In a short statement, the Chinese defence ministry said the drill with the Singapore navy would include joint search and rescue, as well as communication exercises.
“This exercise is a consensus reached by the two navies, aimed at enhancing mutual trust, deepening friendship, promoting cooperation, and jointly promoting the construction of a maritime community with a shared future,” navy spokesman Gao Xiucheng said in the statement.
The drill is part of a 2019 agreement to deepen military ties between the two countries, which last conducted a joint naval drill in 2016. The agreement includes more high-level dialogue, academic and think tank exchanges, as well as an increase in the scale of existing bilateral exercises.
Beijing has been boosting its defence ties with its neighbours in response to stepped-up freedom of navigation operations by the US in the South China Sea. But the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted some of its planned manoeuvres.
About 3,000 Cambodian and Chinese soldiers were to take part in a two-week exercise with live ammunition next month. The drill was reportedly suspended by Cambodia, which blamed the pandemic and heavy flooding that damaged the country’s infrastructure.