‘Playing catch-up’: China aims for stronger Southeast Asian ties with Aman Youyi joint military drills

Name: Xi Jinping, Joe Biden hold talks on sidelines of Apec summit to ease strained US-China ties
Uploaded: 2023-11-21T07:23:41.000Z
Duration: 3 min 12 s
Description: Xi Jinping, Joe Biden hold talks on sidelines of Apec summit to ease strained US-China ties

Aman Youyi-2023 exercises held in Guangdong province aim to further deepen ‘mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation’, according to Chinese state media

Manila may be ’isolated as a claimant state within Asean if it chooses to persist with its recent strong-arm tactics targeting Chinese interests’: analyst

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Beijing launched 10-day joint military drills on November 13 with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam - the most countries to take part in Aman Youyi exercises. Photo: Weibo @南部战区

Seong Hyeon Choi

Published: 3:23pm, 21 Nov 2023Updated: 4:47pm, 21 Nov 2023

Beijing’s largest joint anti-terrorism military exercise with five Asean nations underscores its ambition to play “catch-up” to US defence relationships in the region but Southeast Asian countries are expected to maintain “cautious engagement” to balance between the two powers, analysts said.

China launched the 10-day joint military drills on November 13 with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the most countries to take part in the exercise called “Aman Youyi”. The drills, which end on Wednesday, involve more than 3,000 military personnel.

While China has regularly conducted bilateral military training with several Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, it is rare for countries that have overlapping claims in the South China Sea – such as Malaysia and Vietnam – to join a multilateral military exercise in Chinese territory.

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Xi Jinping, Joe Biden hold talks on sidelines of Apec summit to ease strained US-China ties

The drill comes amid confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coastguards in the South China Sea. Beijing tried to blockade Manila’s resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal using water cannons on Philippine ships in August and November, and vessels collided in October.

According to a report on Monday in the PLA Daily, the Chinese military’s official newspaper, the exercise is taking place near Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, in southern China – the first time Aman Youyi has been held in Chinese territory.

The report said the six countries aimed to improve urban and maritime anti-terrorism and anti-piracy abilities, to further deepen “mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation” among their militaries. The goal was to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability and “strengthen multidimensional, multi-link three-dimensional anti-terrorism strike forces”, it said.

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