China Coast Guard (CCG) on Saturday conducted drills on rights-protection law enforcement and management and control in the waters near China's Huangyan Dao.
The drills focused on operations such as visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS), interdiction of forced entry, and forced towing, the CCG spokesman Jiang Lue said.
Noting that Huangyan Dao is an inherent part of China's territory, Jiang said that the CCG will step up efforts in rights-protection law enforcement and management and control in the waters near Huangyan Dao, and resolutely safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
CCG conducts law enforcement drills near Huangyan Dao
CCG conducts law enforcement drills near Huangyan Dao
The latest Chinese military exercise at Huangyan Dao is meant to send a signal to certain countries including the Philippines, warning that China's resolve to defend its territory is unshakable, an expert said on Saturday.
Earlier that day, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command conducted a joint naval-air training exercise in the territorial sea and airspace of China's Huangyan Dao and its surrounding areas, according to an official statement. The exercise aims to test and enhance the forces' real combat capabilities in safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the theater command said.
In a phone interview with China Media Group, Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said the Philippines' territorial claim over Huangyan Dao is null and void.
"China has already announced the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao. Huangyan Dao belongs to China. This is a matter of territorial sovereignty. Now the Philippines has made its own 'declaration', which is essentially an invalid attempt to occupy Huangyan Dao. We already have effective control over Huangyan Dao, and I believe these exercises will become routine, much like our combat readiness patrols there," Chen said.
"On one hand, the training exercise is well within our rights. On the other hand, it serves as a warning to certain countries, including the Philippines, that China's resolve cannot be challenged. No means can shake our position, and we have all the capabilities to respond to any move. We are determined to hold our ground at Huangyan Dao, and our sovereign declaration over this territory will never change," the expert said.
PLA training exercise at Huangyan Dao serves as warning to Philippines: expert
