China on Wednesday announced a second naval drill in the western Pacific this year, days after US President Barack Obama announced an expanded military presence in the region.
"A fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will go for training in the western Pacific in late November," the Ministry of National Defense announced.
"This annual regular training is a routine arrangement, not directed toward any particular country or target," the statement said. "China's lawful rights, including free navigation in relevant waters, should not receive any barriers."
The statement did not reveal the location of the drill, nor the vessels to be used.
Japan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a total of six Chinese ships, including one destroyer and a supply ship, crossed into the Pacific between two major Okinawa Prefecture islands in southern Japan early Tuesday.
The ministry said it had dispatched aircraft and ships to "closely monitor" the drill.
Li Jie, a senior captain at the Chinese Naval Research Institute, told the Global Times that the drill was scheduled at the beginning of the year.
"It is mainly to train projects in marine supply, antisubmarine and communications so as to improve naval maneuverability and enhance strategic and technological competence. It has no other intention, and concerns from other countries are completely unwarranted," Li said.
Peng Guangqian, a military expert at the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, echoed Li's words by saying, "The naval drill is aimed more at testing the capability and performance of the third-generation naval equipment under complicated weather conditions on the high seas."
"Only on-the-spot practice can reveal problems that could occur in real battles. Many other countries often conduct similar drills," Peng said.
Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based military expert, said that some countries exaggerate China's naval exercises for their own political purposes.
"Pressed by domestic political demand, some countries magnify China's moves, especially those related to the South China Sea and the East China Sea," Song told the Global Times.
But at the same time, Song said there is still a long way for China's naval development to go as it is not competent enough to protect some of the country's activities and interests in the region.
The drill came shortly after Obama wrapped up an Asian tour in which he attended the East Asia Summit and confronted Chinese officials over the South China Sea issue, in spite of Beijing's firm opposition.
Obama also announced the US would deploy up to 2,500 Marines to Australia by 2016 and tighten air force cooperation.
Noting that China was "entitled to exercise their military in ways they deem fit," Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said Wednesday the US had no problem with the naval drill.
In June, the PLA Navy sent 11 vessels to the same area for a military drill including two submarines, a rescue ship and three destroyers.
In August, China conducted the initial trial of its first aircraft carrier, refitted from an old cruise bought from Ukraine.
In its annual report on the Chinese military, the Pentagon once again amped up the "China threat" theory, claiming that Beijing has developed up to 12,000 ballistic missiles and other long-range anti-ship missiles.
The Tokyo-based Diplomat magazine said in an opinion piece entitled "Yes, China Could Have a Global Navy" that the PLA navy should be able to "enclose much of the western Pacific and the South China Sea within a zone of Chinese maritime supremacy" by 2020 and its fleet "would commence global operations by 2050."
Separately, China and Japan pledged Wednesday to boost political trust during Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba's visit to Beijing.
"The just-concluded East Asia Summit has demonstrated a strong trend of forging solidarity, development and cooperation within the region," Premier Wen Jiabao told Gemba.
Gemba was in Beijing to pave the way for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's planned visit to China in December.
If his trip is made, Noda will be the first Japanese prime minister to visit China since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in 2009.
China's navy drills unrelated to US' Pacific deployment: expert
China's military authority announced on Wednesday they will conduct naval drills in the west Pacific later this month, in an official move targeted at consolidating military capabilities rather than a response to recent maritime stand-offs in the Pacific region, said Chinese experts.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is to conduct a military exercise in the west Pacific around the end of November, according to a statement issued on Wednesday from China's Ministry of National Defense.
"It is an annual routine drill, and not directed at any specific nation or target in accordance with relevant international laws and global practices. China's navigational freedoms, among other legal rights, should not be hindered," said the statement.
The specific authority did not reveal the area where the drills would take place, nor did it disclose which facilities would be used during the practice.
On Wednesday, Japan's NHK television network cited the Japanese Defense Ministry as saying that six Chinese naval vessels had crossed into the ocean area between Japan's two major Okinawa Prefecture islands sometime early Tuesday.
One intelligence-gathering ship from China's military force has already crossed into the Pacific after sailing 100 kilometers away from Japan's Miyako-jima Island on Tuesday according to Japan's anti-submarine aircraft patrol, the report said, adding that another five ships from China, including one destroyer, a supply ship, and three other vessels, also went through the Pacific on the same day.
Japan's Defense Ministry announced that they have dispatched aircraft and ships to "closely monitor" China's drills near Okinawa, Japan.
The PLA Navy sent 11 vessels to the same area for a military drill in June, including two submarines, a rescue ship and three destroyers, which also placed Japanese troops on high alert, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
Li Jie, a senior captain at the Chinese Naval Research Institute, told the Global Times on Thursday that the military move was not aimed at US pressure or at the run-ins with relevant nations on South China Sea issues, as the scheduled time for the drills was established at the beginning of the year.
In Australia last week, US President Barack Obama announced that the US will permanently base some of its Marine forces in Darwin beginning next year, a move analysts say shows the US is bolstering its presence in the Pacific region.
Peng Guangqian, a military expert at the PLA Academy of Military Science, echoed Li's words by saying, "the naval drill is aimed more at testing the liability and performance of third-generation naval equipment under complicated weather conditions via military exercises on the high seas."
Peng said communication along with maneuverability and commanding capabilities while at out sea are probably the drills most practiced which are meant to enhance strategic and technological competence.
"Only on-the-spot practice can reveal problems, which military forces might be confronted with in real battles," Peng noted.
Japan's NHK reported that China's exercises did not violate international law, which was later echoed by Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, when he said the US had no problem with the naval exercises as China was "entitled to exercise their military in ways they deem fit," the BBC reported on Thursday.
