China, Russia to Hold Joint Exercises in S China Sea

Local Editor

China and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, Beijing's defense ministry said Thursday, after an international tribunal invalidated the Asian giant's extensive claims in the area.

The drills will be carried out in the "relevant sea and air of the South China Sea", defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters at a monthly briefing, adding the exercise was "routine" and "does not target any third party".

The announcement comes after a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that there was "no legal basis" to Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, embodied in a "nine-dash line" dating from Chinese maps of the 1940s and extending almost to the coasts of other countries, which have competing claims.

China has built a series of artificial islands on rocks and reefs in the area hosting facilities capable of supporting military operations, widely seen as an attempt to bolster its control of the strategically vital waters.

The tribunal ruling infuriated Beijing and fuelled tensions with Washington, which has sent naval vessels close to Chinese-claimed outcrops in recent months to assert the principle of freedom of navigation.

China and Russia have close military and diplomatic ties, often in opposition to the West, particularly the United States, and their leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin enjoy a tight relationship.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team