China kicks off two-day naval drills in South China Sea
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The China Maritime Safety Administration says the exercise will take place between July 15-16.
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China's Liaoning aircraft carrier is accompanied by PLA Navy frigates and submarines conducting exercises in the South China Sea in April 2018. (AP)
China launched on Monday a two-day military exercise in the South China Sea, the China Maritime Safety Administration announced.
In a statement, the administration said that the drills will take place from 9:00 am local time (01:00 GMT) on July 15 until 7:00 pm (11:00 GMT) on July 16.
Without disclosing further details, the safety office identified the area of the exercise via published coordinates, noting that it would be off-limits throughout the drills.
Read more: China expresses readiness to strengthen relations with Australia
Tensions grew over recent years due to the United States’ increasing hostility in the region, including establishing new military bases in the Philippines, which is in an open territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.
The situation was exacerbated with NATO designating last week China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's continued war with Ukraine during the coalition’s Washington summit.
But Beijing has repeatedly stressed that it will not succumb to Western pressure and diktats over its sovereign relations with Moscow. It also emphasized that it is not aiding Russia in its war efforts, pointing out its constant attempts to promote a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Ukraine and its "impartial position" on the matter.
Joseph Borell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, confirmed last week China's statement, saying that the EU has no evidence that China is arming Russia.
"China has committed not to supply arms and we do not have evidence that this is happening," he stated at IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in early June that the UK has evidence that Beijing is supplying weapons to Russia, but the United States promptly responded that it does not have such evidence and asked Shapps to share his country's findings with Washington.
Read more: China says US interfering in its internal affairs
Last week, China announced that it will be conducting joint military drills with Russia on its southern coast until the middle of this month following a Western defense alliance meeting in Washington and after Japan warned of China-Russia ties being a threat, warnings that Beijing described as "irresponsible and provocative."
China's Defense Ministry confirmed that the exercises codenamed Joint Sea-2024 began in early July.
It added that they were happening under the bilateral annual plan for military engagement.
