China, which is facing off with the Philippines over sovereignty in the South China Sea, is set to conduct five days of live-fire drills in the northern waters of the South China Sea.
According to China's Maritime Safety Administration on the 23rd, the Zhanjiang Maritime Safety Administration in Guangdong province said via a navigational warning that it will conduct live-fire drills in parts of the South China Sea from the 24th to the 28th, daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, the troops and equipment to be mobilized and specific details of the drills were not disclosed.
Based on the coordinates of the no-sail zone released by China, the drill area is off the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province. This area is on the eastern side of the Qiongzhou Strait between mainland China and Hainan Island. During the drills, ships are also prohibited from entering these waters.
China currently claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. It has recently been in conflict with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao in Chinese; Bajo de Masinloc in Filipino) and Second Thomas Shoal (Ren'ai Jiao in Chinese; Ayungin in Filipino), among others.
Earlier, on the 21st, the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army claimed that three small Philippine aircraft entered the airspace over Scarborough Shoal without approval from the Chinese government, and said it tracked, monitored, and warned them by deploying naval and air forces. In particular, China's latest drills are expected to further sharpen the standoff between the two countries over disputed waters in the South China Sea.