The US had, earlier this month, deployed two of its frontline aircraft carriers and their strike groups comprising more battleships, in the South China Sea besides flying reconnaissance aircraft in the region.

Hindustani Times
Date: Jul 26, 2020
By: Sutirtho Patranobis
Edited by: Sparshita Saxena

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun a well-publicised live-fire drill in the southern Guangdong province’s Leizhou Peninsula, considered to be the doorstep of the South China Sea (SCS), official media reported on Sunday.

The week-long drills, which will include anti-ship and anti-aircraft exercises by the PLA air force with the PLA’s navy and rocket forces joining in, are being held in the backdrop of rising tension with the US over, among other issues, the SCS disputes and Washington’s sale of arms to Taiwan.

Last week, for the first time, Washington rejected China’s maritime claims in the SCS, large parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

Also read: China tried to jab India with a new claim on Bhutan. Why it has boomeranged

The messaging behind the PLA’s latest drill is directed at the US, which had also, earlier this month, deployed two of its frontline aircraft carriers and their strike groups comprising more battleships, in the SCS besides flying reconnaissance aircraft in the region.   [FULL  STORY]