The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held combat-oriented naval exercises featuring different types of warships in three major sea areas, at a time when the US secretary of defense is rallying allies in the region and attempting to foster “credible deterrence” against China.
The PLA Northern, Eastern and Southern theater commands recently organized combat-oriented exercises in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea respectively, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
In the Yellow Sea, Type 056 and Type 056A corvettes Wuhai, Datong and Yingkou formed a flotilla and practiced training courses including main gun shooting, secondary gun shooting and air defense by launching flares. In the East China Sea, Type 052C destroyer Jinan and Type 054A frigate Changzhou ran more than 10 training missions including free combat among warships, submarines and warplanes, and joint fire strikes. In the South China Sea, different types of tug and support ships held maritime search and rescue and emergency towing exercises, according to the CCTV report.
The PLA Southern Theater Command also held another exercise in the Beibu Bay, west of the Leizhou Peninsula in the South China Sea, as sailors on Sunday paid respects with their actions to heroes who emerged victorious in the Chigua Reef Skirmish on March 14, 1988 against Vietnam, the command said in a statement on Sunday, the 33th anniversary of the event.
The intensive PLA naval exercises…
