China kicks off naval drills in South China Sea

China has launched annual combat drills in the South China Sea and neighbouring waters.

According to state-run news agency Xinhua the naval exercises, aimed at enhancing combat readiness and practise co-ordination between ships, aircraft and other forces, began on 4 May when three naval ships of China’s Nanhai Fleet left a naval port in Sanya on Hainan Island.

Located near the disputed Paracels, Hainan Island is home to both a naval and an air force base.

Along with three helicopters and dozens of ‘special warfare’ soldiers, the fleet was expected to be separated into three groups that would “sail to areas of the South China Sea, the East Indian Ocean, and the west Pacific to conduct varied drills,” the agency added.

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