The Chinese Navy and Aviation staged maneuvers in disputed parts of the South China Sea, China's armed forces said. This happened hours after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ways to reduce regional tensions, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Chinese maneuvers include “routine“ early warning and reconnaissance exercises, as well as patrolling off Scarborough Reef, China's People's Liberation Army Southern Command said in a statement, without giving further details.
„The combatants maintain a high level of vigilance, resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests, and resolutely preserving peace and stability in the South China Sea,”, the statement said.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including Scarborough Reef, despite overlapping claims in those waters by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The announcement of the maneuvers comes after Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in New York for talks on ways to avoid conflict in the South China Sea.
On Friday, Wang Yi “stressed that China insists on resolving differences with directly affected countries through dialogue and consultation” during the meeting, his ministry said in a statement.
Blinken said he raised the issue of “dangerous and destabilizing actions” of China in the South China Sea and has discussed improving communications between the two nations' militaries.
At the same time, Australia and the Philippines announced that their armed forces would engage in joint maritime activity with their counterparts from Japan, New Zealand and the United States in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense, quoted by the Kyodo news agency, said that the destroyer of the National Maritime Self-Defense Force “Sadzanami“ participated in the exercises. The five countries said the maneuvers were dubbed “Maritime Cooperation Actions” and demonstrate a collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.