China has been strengthening its presence in disputed waters on two separate fronts in order to demonstrate it will not be pushed aside.
Since the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague poked holes in China’s claims last month, China has taken a stubborn stance and has been using show-of-force tactics to reinforce its position.
Chinese naval aviation forces, submarines, ships, and coast guard units took part in a live-fire drill in the East China Sea last Monday. This massive training exercise was designed to prepare troops for “an information technology-based war at sea.”
The next day, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan encouraged the military, police, and people to make “substantial preparations for a war at sea” to combat offshore security threats and safeguard national sovereignty.
On Saturday, spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Senior Colonel Shen Jinke revealed that during a recent series of aerial combat drills in the South China Sea, Chinese H-6K long-range bombers and Su-30 fighter jets, as well as airborne early warning aircraft, reconnaissance planes, and tankers, passed over the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
In a related incident, China sent six coast guard vessels and 230 fishing ships into waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands), triggering a protest from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
According to Japanese reports, a total of 14 Chinese coast guard ships, several of which were armed, have sailed through Japan’s contiguous zone since last Wednesday. Other reports indicated that 12 Chinese vessels were still there this morning.
Japan also lodged a complaint with China over military surface radar and monitoring cameras spotted on China’s gas-drilling platforms in the East China Sea. This discovery further points to Chinese militarization at sea.
Retired PLA Colonel Yue Gang said that while the majority of China’s forces are concentrating on the East China Sea, there is a need for China “to maintain a certain level of air power in the South China Sea,” reported the South China Morning Post. Yue argued that China needs to maintain a strong military presence in the region in order to show the world that China will defend its interests and has the ability to “throw a punch at any time.”
Military commentator Ni Leixiong remarked that the naval and air operations demonstrate that China is prepared to handle conflicts on two separate fronts. He added that these moves were “also a message to Japan that China has the initiative to choose a battlefield at will.”
Jin Canrong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said, “The new move near the Diaoyus was a protest against Japan’s recent words and deeds.”
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