The exercise, in accordance with the global law and practices, was not carried out against any specific country or target, and the Chinese military will continue organizing such routine actions according to schedule, Wu said.
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The Russian news outlet TASS reports that the exercises, dubbed Joint Sea-2016, will take place between September 12 and 19. Chinese and Australian armies will conduct a joint drill, “panda-kangaroo-2016”, in Sydney from September 14 to to September 23, Wu said.
Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said the Kowari exercise mirrors a “shared readiness to bring the trilateral security relationship forward”. China claims territory in the South China Sea internationally recognized to belong to Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia, as well as waters off the coast of Indonesia’s Natuna island.
Zhang said Australia is trying to strike a balance between the USA, its traditional security ally, and China, a major economic and trade partner.
“During the exercise the forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army of China will drill organizing defense of ships at sea and joint assault force landing in the South China Sea”, said Russian Navy spokesperson Vladimir Matveyev. Kerry has been in China for talks on a variety of issues including seeking diplomatic solutions for the South China Sea. “The exercise will focus on joint maritime defense actions”.
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“The South China Sea conflict should be resolved peacefully by the Chinese and Vietnamese governments”, the prime minister wrote on his official Facebook page in response to a Vietnamese Facebook user who criticized Cambodia’s position on the issue. China and Russian Federation have stressed that the drill is routine and does not target any third party.
