Chinese Navy seeks to expand influence beyond immediate neighbourhood

A Chinese naval unit recently completed an extensive month-long training exercise in the Pacific Ocean, fueling speculation that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is working on its broader ambitions by expanding its focus away from its immediate neighborhood.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Southern Theater Command told the PLA on Saturday that a fleet under its command had traveled over 6,700 nautical miles between Indonesia and the Philippines and across the western Pacific in the past month.

“The complicated military situation poses a great challenge to the will and perseverance of officers and soldiers … The use of weapons on the high seas not only helps to assess the performance of the equipment under continuous sailing conditions, but also tests the skills of officers and soldiers Soldiers command and cooperate, “the command said on its social media account.

This shows that the Chinese Navy has again stepped up its efforts to expand its range of operations, as has been attempted in recent years.

Last year, a fleet under the Southern Theater Command completed a 41-day exercise in the Pacific, covered 14,000 nautical miles and carried out a number of combat and rescue missions, SCMP reported.

“In order for China to develop expeditionary warfare capabilities, the PLA will continue to explore more areas rather than confine itself to the neighboring seas. More expedition training means the Navy will be able to reach more seas, ”he said.

China has been stepping up its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea in recent months, in part in response to Beijing’s concerns about the increasing US military presence in the region due to escalating Sino-US tensions.

These ambitions have sparked a backlash, prompting the United States to strengthen its freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, which Beijing said violates its sovereignty and increases the risk of conflict.

In Japan, Chinese ships have made a record 112 break-ins into waters around the controversial Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by Tokyo. According to the Japanese Coast Guard, Chinese ships sailed through the contiguous zone around the islands in the East China Sea on Friday for the 112th consecutive day.

Beijing has also introduced a new law that allows the country’s quasi-military force to use weapons against foreign ships that China is considered to be entering its waters illegally.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been revised by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)

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