• Adm. Scott Swift looks on as officers demonstrate the capabilities of the P-8A Poseidon. Credit: USPACFLT via Flickr
    Adm. Scott Swift looks on as officers demonstrate the capabilities of the P-8A Poseidon. Credit: USPACFLT via Flickr
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Patrick Durrant | Sydney
 
The Chinese navy has announced 10 days of military training in the waters near eastern Hainan Island in the South China Sea starting on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions in the region.
 
During the training, 'no vessel is allowed to enter the designated maritime areas', according to China's Maritime Safety Administration, which released the drill plan on Monday.
 
Tensions in the South China Sea have worsened in recent months.
 
Over the past weekend, Admiral Scott Swift, the new commander of the US Pacific Fleet, joined a seven-hour surveillance flight in a P-8A Poseidon over the South China Sea.
 

"We are ready and prepared to respond to any contingency that the President may suggest would be necessary."


China's Ministry of National Defence expressed its opposition on Monday to the frequent and close US reconnaissance of China and said it gravely undermined Sino-US trust.
 
China also objected last week to the Philippines repairing a warship, which it ran aground in 1999 near Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea and refused to relocate despite repeated demands from Beijing.
 
Last month, the Philippines held two military drills, one with the US and the other with Japan, in the South China Sea.
 
Major General Zhu Chenghu, a professor at National Defence University of the People's Liberation Army, said it is 'understandable' that some people might link the coming drill with the recent tensions, but he dismissed any connection.
 
'For people with military knowledge, they'd certainly know that a military drill of this scale will take at least three to four months of preparation, or maybe even longer. Dozens of projects will be done during the training to test the navy's tactics and weapons.' Zhu said.
 
Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said China's frictions with the US and the Philippines in the South China Sea have been noted almost every month since January, allowing people to speculate every time China held a drill.
 
'There is no direct connection. China is simply working on an annual military training plan that targets no other nation,' Zhang said. 'The purpose is simple: to improve our navy's offshore defence combat capability.'
 
Despite the fact that the United States has no official claim in the region, it has expressed concern repeatedly over Beijing’s construction of artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago. While the Chinese government has repeatedly assured Washington that the islands are largely meant for humanitarian purposes, the US has encouraged Pacific allies to increase military pressure on China and conducted a series of military exercises with regional partners.
 
Swift’s weekend flight followed a trip to Manila last week, where he assured Philippine officials that the United States was prepared to act in the South China Sea should conflict erupt.
 
"[I am] very satisfied with the resources that I have available to me as the Pacific Fleet commander," Swift told reporters on Friday. "We are ready and prepared to respond to any contingency that the President may suggest would be necessary."
 
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