Chinese and Southeast Asian naval forces have staged their first computer-simulated drills so they can jointly respond to emergencies and build trust amid long-seething disputes in the South China Sea.
The two-day exercises that ended yesterday involved more than 40 sailors from China and ASEAN. They worked on search-and-rescue scenarios following a mock ship collision.
The Singaporean Navy hosted the drills at a training center at Changi Naval Base, where officers coordinated their force deployments and helicopter landings on navy ships.
They monitored developments on three giant screens, including one showing the location of a collision between an oil tanker, which supposedly caught fire, and a passenger ship that sank and scattered people in the high seas.
It was a successful prelude to actual maneuvers at sea that are planned for October in China, Singaporean Navy Colonel Lim Yu Chuan said.
“The exercise is beneficial to promote military exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN member states, [and] to advance our mutual trust,” Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Captain Liang Zhijia told reporters.
Organizers did not directly link the exercises to the territorial disputes, which escalated after China turned seven disputed reefs into artificial islands.
Some now resemble bases with buildings and weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and have sparked protests, including from rival claimants.
Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also have claims to all or parts of the South China Sea.
During an annual meeting of their foreign ministers in Singapore on Thursday, an agreement was announced on an initial draft of a “code of conduct”: a set of rules to discourage aggression and reduce chances of accidental clashes and miscalculations.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) called the draft the “biggest highlight” of the meeting.
“We believe that without any disturbances from the outside, COC [code of conduct] consultations will accelerate,” Wang said.
China has accused the US of meddling in an Asian dispute. The US military has deployed its massive aircraft carriers, other warships and fighter jets to patrol the disputed waters, including areas close to China’s artificial islands, in maneuvers Washington has said aim to promote freedom of navigation and overflight in the strategic waterway.
Other Asian and Western nations have weighed in on the territorial conflicts, calling for the rule of law to be upheld and the disputes to be resolved peacefully, and not by force or intimidation.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini expressed hopes that negotiations would lead to a legally binding code of conduct that would uphold international laws and principles like freedom of navigation.
“We have, I would say, political interest in the international principles, norms and laws to be respected,” Mogherini said in a lecture on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Singapore. “Secondly, we have an economic interest, because as you know, European goods travel the seas, including around Asia.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
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