Chinese navy launches South China Sea drills as Biden visits Asia
- US President Joe Biden is visiting South Korea and Japan as Washington and its allies focus on countering the perceived threat from Beijing
- The drills will continue until Monday, China’s maritime office says
The drills began on Thursday and will continue until Monday, the Maritime Safety Administration office in China’s southern island province of Hainan said.
Other aircraft and vessels will be prohibited from entering the area, the office said, but gave no further details.
The US does not take a foreign position on the sovereignty issue, but insists on the right to operate freely in the sea and frequently sails warships close to militarised Chinese-held islands in the area in what it calls “freedom of navigation operations”.
Beijing hits out at US after destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait
China routinely protests such missions, labelling them deliberate provocations that endanger peace and stability. To assert its claim, it has built airstrips and other military infrastructure atop human-made islands built on coral reefs and atolls.
China also flew a pair of long-range nuclear-capable H-6 bombers through the area on Wednesday, Chinese media reports said.
While in Japan, Biden will on Tuesday meet fellow leaders of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad, a group that includes Australia, India and Japan.
The four nations share concerns over China’s growing regional assertiveness and increasingly capable armed forces.
‘More than 100’ PLA Navy sorties send message to West over Taiwan
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has criticised what he called negative moves by Washington and Tokyo against Beijing.