China, Russia To Hold Joint Exercises In S China Sea: Beijing
Muhammad Rameez Published July 28, 2016 | 02:22 PM
BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th july,2016) - China and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, Beijing's defence ministry said Thursday, after an international tribunal invalidated the Asian giant's extensive claims in the area. The drills will be carried out in the "relevant sea and air of the South China Sea", defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters at a monthly briefing, adding the exercise was "routine" and "does not target any third party". The announcement comes after a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that there was "no legal basis" to Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, embodied in a "nine-dash line" dating from Chinese maps of the 1940s and extending almost to the coasts of other countries, which have competing claims. China has built a series of artificial islands on rocks and reefs in the area hosting facilities capable of supporting military operations, widely seen as an attempt to bolster its control of the strategically vital waters. The tribunal ruling infuriated Beijing and fuelled tensions with Washington, which has sent naval vessels close to Chinese-claimed outcrops in recent months to assert the principle of freedom of navigation.
Beijing rejected the judgement as "waste paper" and asserted its right to declare an Air Defence Identification Zone controlling flights over the area.
China and Russia have close military and diplomatic ties, often in opposition to the West, particularly the United States, and their leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin enjoy a tight relationship. The two sides hold joint drills regularly. Last August, they carried out military exercises in the waters and airspace of the Peter the Great Gulf, south of the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok,involving 22 vessels, up to 20 aircraft and more than 500 marines. In May last year, they conducted their first joint naval exercises in European waters in the Black Sea and Mediterranean, China's farthest-ever drills from its home waters. Xi and Putin meet frequently and their countries, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, often take similar stances there on divisive issues such as the conflict in Syria.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Dubai Police Marks International Workers' Day with 'Talabat' Riders
Sharjah Ruler inaugurates 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
Parineeti Chopra opens up about her decision to marry politician Raghav Chadha
PCB decides to set up training camp for national team ahead of England, Ireland ..
Virat Kohli's sweet birthday wish for Anushka Sharma
Interior Minister commends Pakistan Coast Guards
Pakistan women’s squad announced for England tour
Punjab CM Maryam inaugurates initiative of field hospitals
PM Shehbaz constitutes committee to investigate caretaker govt’s wheat import ..
Women T20I: Pakistan to face West Indies in fourth match tomorrow
Pak-UK 6th Regional Stabilization Conference underway at NDU, Islamabad
World Labor Day being observed today
More Stories From World
-
Football: South African Premiership results
4 hours ago -
Football: South African Premiership table
4 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
4 hours ago -
Thirty years on, Brazil pays tribute to late F1 hero Senna
4 hours ago -
France among Euro 'favourites' but in 'tough group', Deschamps tells AFP
5 hours ago -
Alcaraz crashes, Sinner hobbles out of Madrid
5 hours ago
-
Floods strand dozens of tourists in Kenya's Maasai Mara
6 hours ago -
Colombia to cut diplomatic ties with Israel
6 hours ago -
Rublev sends two-time defending champion Alcaraz crashing in Madrid
6 hours ago -
Police tackle US campus protests as Los Angeles hit by clashes
6 hours ago -
Thousands rally in Georgia as 'foreign influence' bill advances
6 hours ago -
UK confirms first migrants held for Rwanda deportation flights
6 hours ago