South China Sea: Beijing ramps up drills and tests its ability to seize an island

PLA exercises in contested waters coincide with rising tension with the US military and its insistence on freedom-of-navigation operations in the region

China has conducted 20 naval exercises involving elements of island capture in the first half of 2021, far exceeding 13 such exercises last year

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The Chinese military is conducting drills in the west of the Leizhou Peninsula and in a separate exercise, a naval detachment under the Southern Theatre Command conducted an amphibious landing exercise in the South China Sea in the early hours of the morning. Photo: CCTV/Handout

Published: 8:13pm, 9 Sep 2021Updated: 11:29pm, 9 Sep 2021

The Chinese military is ramping up its presence in the South China Sea and enhancing its ability to seize an island, despite military friction with the United States in the region.

An area in the west of the Leizhou Peninsula will be cordoned off to traffic on Thursday and Friday, because of “live-fire exercises”, according to a notice by China’s Maritime Administration.

Separately, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday that a naval detachment under the Southern Theatre Command had conducted an amphibious landing exercise in the South China Sea in the early hours of the morning.

The exercise involved using Wuzhishan – a Type 071 amphibious transport dock – and two helicopters, at least one tank and three air-cushioned landing craft, according to video footage released by the state broadcaster CCTV.

The video also showed soldiers being sent to an unspecified island by both the helicopter and the transport dock.