source: Reuters through www.gmanetwork.com
BEIJING
- Three advanced Chinese warships left port on Wednesday for naval drills and
war games in the Western Pacific, and the fleet will likely pass through
disputed waters in the East and South China Sea, state media said.
The
official Xinhua news agency described the maneuvers as routine, but they come
as China is engaged in an increasingly bitter, high stakes dispute over
maritime territory with Japan and with several Southeast Asia nations.
"The
fleet will carry out more than 20 types of exercises including naval
confrontation, battle drills far out at sea, the protection of maritime rights
and command and control," Xinhua cited the Defense Ministry as saying in a
statement.
"These
exercises on the high seas will take in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the
South China Sea, the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the seas to the east
of Taiwan."
President
Hu Jintao has made boosting the navy a priority, especially in trying to turn
it into a blue-water fleet able to operate far from China's shore, and Chinese
ships have participated in anti-piracy missions off Somalia.
But
China's growing defence budget, military advances and perceived lack of
transparency have alarmed its neighbors and the United States. China is
developing stealth fighters and last year launched its first aircraft carrier.
On
Sunday, the government said it had again tested emerging military technology
aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air.
China
says it has no hostile designs and that it is simply updating its outdated
forces.
The
Pacific drills are "a normal way of exercising to raise the fighting
ability of the navy," Xinhua cited a naval officer as saying, adding that
it was common for other navies to drill in seas far from home. — Reuters
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