PLA vows to strengthen war preparation, safeguard sovereignty after South China Sea drills

They coincided with joint exercises between the US, the Philippines, Japan and Australia and come at a tense time in the region

Military spokesman says the Chinese drills included fighter jet patrols, joint air and sea raids, and warships in cruising formation

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The Chinese drills were held as the US, the Philippines, Japan and Australia held their first full-scale joint exercises in the South China Sea. Photo: AFP/Australian Department of Defence

Published: 4:00pm, 9 Apr 2024

The Chinese military has wrapped up two days of naval and air drills in the disputed South China Sea that were held as the United States conducted joint exercises with the Philippines, Japan and Australia in the same area.

Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, said the drills on Sunday and Monday included fighter jet patrols, joint air and sea raids, and warships in cruising formation.

In a statement on Tuesday, Tian said the command would “continuously strengthen military training and war preparation” and “safeguard national sovereignty and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea”.

The USS Mobile is seen during the joint drills on Sunday. Photo: AFP/Australian Department of Defence

The People’s Liberation Army has not said where in the South China Sea the drills took place, but they coincided with Sunday’s joint exercises between the US and its allies.

According to the Philippine Army, navy vessels and aircraft were sent to “the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone” in the West Philippine Sea – the name Manila uses for the part of the South China Sea that is within its EEZ.

Three Philippine warships – the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, BRP Antonio Luna, and BRP Valentin Diaz – took part in the drills, alongside the American USS Mobile, Japan’s JS Akebono and Australia’s HMAS Warramunga.

They conducted a “communication exercise, division tactics or officer of the watch manoeuvre, and a photo exercise” to strengthen collaboration in naval combat, according to the Philippine Army statement on Sunday.

Japan’s embassy in Manila said the joint exercises also included anti-submarine warfare training.