Shandong aircraft carrier group concludes South China Sea Exercise
- The country’s defence ministry said the carrier and its escorts had carried out their first exercise of the year in the disputed waters
- China has been expanding its military capabilities in the area in recent years, angering rival claimants and prompting the US to step up its own presence
The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and its naval support group have concluded an exercise in the South China Sea, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
Gao Xiucheng, a spokesman for the Chinese navy, said the exercises were “legitimate and can enhance Chinese capabilities to protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests,” adding they could also help protect regional peace and stability.
Gao said he hoped the outside world would view this exercise objectively and rationally. “In the future, the Chinese navy will continue to organise similar exercises,” he said.
The Shandong is China’s second aircraft carrier and the first one to be domestically produced.
The exercise was the Shandong’s first drill in the disputed South China Sea this year.
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Manila said some of the ships were part of a maritime militia but China insisted they were fishing vessels “sheltering from the wind.”
The Chinese defence ministry also said that its other carrier, the Liaoning, and its escorts had also carried out exercises around Taiwan and in the South China Sea recently.
Analysts told the nationalist tabloid Global Times that the two carrier groups were actively preparing to deal with any threat the country may face.
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Explained: the history of China’s territorial disputes
Tensions have risen in the South China Sea in recent years as Beijing, which claims most of the waters for itself, has sought to cement its claims, which are contested by several of its neighbours, by constructing artificial islands and building up its military infrastructure.
The area has also become a major theatre for its rivalry with the United States, which has stepped up its reconnaissance activities in the waters this year.
China keeps up steady presence at disputed South China Sea reef: US think tank
