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China conducts military drills near Vietnam
China began on Wednesday military drills in an area overlapping with Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, in the South China Sea, the Sanya Maritime Safety Administration said in a navigation warning.
The “training exercise” is being conducted daily until Dec. 21 in waters southwest of China’s Hainan island, with a portion lying inside Vietnam’s EEZ where it has jurisdiction over resources in the waters and on the seabed.
Authorities in the Hainan city of Sanya did not specify what kind of training was involved but advised civilian vessels not to enter the area.
Vietnamese South China Sea watcher Duan Dang told Radio Free Asia that China’s second aircraft carrier – the Shandong – was spotted approaching the exercise area on Dec. 17.
Several Chinese military aircraft including a high-altitude long-endurance drone Wing Loong-10 (WZ-10) that is mostly used for reconnaissance, were also seen.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Sanya on Tuesday, Duan noted.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, does not specify restrictions on military exercises and maneuvers but Vietnam’s Law of the Sea requires that other countries should not conduct any activity to jeopardize its sovereignty and security inside its EEZ.
Vietnam, China and four other parties claim parts of the South China Sea but China’s claim is by far the most expansive.
Tensions have been rising in recent months between China and the Philippines over some islands that both countries claim as theirs.
The military exercise takes place as Vietnam holds a large-scale arms trade fair, called Vietnam Defense Expo 2024, to diversify its weapons procurement and showcase domestic products.
Defense companies from nearly 30 countries, among them the United States, China, Israel, Iran, Ukraine and Vietnam’s largest arms supplier – Russia – are participating in the event.
