Beijing’s moves followed after the tribunal appointed by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration last week quashed China’s claims of historic rights over the vast expanse of the South China Sea and upheld the Philippines’ claims under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS).
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The Chinese authorities say the disputed area of water, east of the island province of Hainan, will be closed between Monday and Thursday.
The statement provided details of the closing but did not specify the type of exercises or the reason behind the drills.
The announcement came during a three-day visit to China by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson to discuss the South China Sea dispute and ways to increase interaction between the two militaries, which continue to have tense ties.
Beijing was preparing today to close access to some of the South China Sea to carry out military exercises, according to information from the authorities, a week after an global arbitration against the country’s claim of sovereignty on the islands in the region.
China has declared sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, despite contested claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other island countries in the region, according to Russia Today.
Phillippines welcome the decision of global court.
Despite the seeming impasse, Yasay said he was still hopeful both countries can find a way to resolve the long-seething dispute.
The hotly contested South China Sea region frequently witnesses military exercises conducted by China and other claimants.
In this undated photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
Richardson attempted to play down the animosity after last week’s arbitration court ruling, which Beijing has blasted as US – and Japanese-led “meddling”.
Beijing claims sovereignty over around 90 percent of the sea, an area marked by a so-called “nine-dash line” on Chinese official maps, while the Philippines and other Asian nations have their own claims.
The ruling also criticized China’s efforts to build artificial islands in the Spratlys chain, known as Nansha in Chinese.
Reaffirming its claim of territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over nearly all of the South China Sea, particularly the disputed Spratly Islands, China says its claim is rooted in history. And while the Philippine government welcomed the decision, it was careful not to antagonize china, urging all concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety.
Philippines wins arbitration case vs.
James Schoff, an Asia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called the recent flight of the nuclear-capable aircraft an “emphatic demonstration” of China’s defiance that was created to sap the Philippines of confidence that its USA ally will uphold its defense treaty obligations.
China says the dispute concerns worldwide law on territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation rather than fishing resources and that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), to which it and the Philippines are signatories, does not apply.
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The military would not elaborate on any specifics regarding the drills.
