China’s military launched live-fire naval warfare exercises in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, further raising tensions among states in the region.
The war games were announced by the Chinese maritime security agency and included a warning for all ships to keep out of three areas near Hainan Island, according to the official PLA Daily military newspaper.
The live-fire drills come days after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) criticized China for militarizing new, artificially created islands in the sea. The association stated in a final communiqué issued last week that China’s island building has “increased tensions” in the region.
The statement reflected pressure from Vietnam and Philippines on ASEAN to take a strong stand against Chinese maritime encroachment.
Secretary of State John Kerry in Malaysia on Thursday voiced “serious concerns” over China’s “massive” land reclamation and militarization in the sea. On Monday in Vietnam, Kerry said he discussed security cooperation with the communist government on maritime issues.
“I reiterated America’s strong support of freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea,” Kerry said in Malaysia. “These rights, I would remind everybody, are universal rights and they must be respected by every nation, large and small.”
