China-ASEAN naval drill to focus on code to stop conflict

Most would view this as a strengthening of ties and buildup of trust. While this is correct, it’s only partially. Where this is leading to is an Asian bloc without the United States — an actual abandonment of the West as Asia will come under Beijing’s umbrella of protection.

 

Chinese seamen and their counterparts from ten ASEAN navies take part in a launch ceremony in Zhanjiang on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

 

Symbolic exercise off Guangdong province with ASEAN navies; exercise comes at a time of tension over China’s military buildup on disputed atolls

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has hailed the first, week-long naval exercise by China and ASEAN nations, off the city of Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong province, as a milestone showcasing the shared resolve of China and ASEAN states to safeguard regional peace.

China sends troops to military base in Djibouti, widening reach across Indian Ocean

Soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army stand on a ship sailing off from a military port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

 

Beijing says facility needed for anti-piracy operations but rivals expected to be alarmed

China has taken a decisive step ­towards establishing a maritime force that can reach across the ­Indian Ocean with its first ­deployment of troops to its ­military facility in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.

China has presented the ­facility as a support base to run anti-piracy operations in waters along Africa’s east coast as well as peacekeeping and ­humanitarian missions in the region.

But given it sits at the shipping choke point of the Gulf of Aden which opens to the Suez Canal and beyond, China’s ­regional neighbours including Japan, ­India and Vietnam were likely to view the deployment with alarm, mainland experts said.

Key US Ally to Proceed with South China Sea War Games with Beijing

Australia on Thursday said it will go ahead with live-fire naval exercises with China, even after close ally the United States sent a warship into the disputed South China Sea this week.

Washington infuriated Beijing on Tuesday when it sent its USS Lassen destroyer within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands in a challenge to China’s claims in the South China Sea.

The United States said the incident was a routine freedom-of-navigation operation, and vowed to send more ships.