China, ASEAN states start inaugural joint maritime exercises

China and Southeast Asian states have kicked off their first joint maritime exercises as part of efforts to promote stability and ease tensions across the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday that eight warships had set sail from the port of Zhanjiang, with 1,200 military personnel taking part in the event.

According to China's Defense Ministry, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines deployed ships to participate in the exercises.

Meanwhile, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar sent observers.

In a speech during Monday's opening ceremony, Singapore’s chief of navy, Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong emphasized the security benefits, as well as economic growth to be reaped from regional collaboration.

"To allow the stable and collective use of a shared space, a set of common rules and understanding is very important," the Singapore-based Strait Times quoted the admiral as saying.

The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement late Sunday that the exercises were expected to include a joint search and rescue operation and communication exercises while in formation.

The ministry stressed the exercises would "enhance mutual trust" and "help promote military relations between China and ASEAN countries, strengthen maritime security cooperation, and enhance the ability to jointly respond to security threats." 

At a ministerial meeting on Friday, the navies of China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to hold the week-long maneuvers.

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The joint naval exercises are taking place after preparatory tabletop exercises were held in Singapore in August between ASEAN and China.

Beijing has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, which serves as a crossing for more that $5 trillion worth of maritime trade annually. The sea is also claimed in part by the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.

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The US has been taking sides with several of China’s neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, and stepped up its military presence in the South China Sea under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

The US has also raised concerns about China's installation of military facilities in artificially-built islands in the South China Sea.

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Two US Air Force B52 bombers flew near Chinese islands in the South China Sea.

Beijing has on numerous occasions stressed that its military drills in the South China Sea are part of routine military training. The Chinese Foreign Ministry defended the country’s peaceful construction on the islands, including "the deployment of necessary national defense facilities."

China calls the US military presence in the region an instance of meddling and warns it’s likely to stir regional tensions. Beijing's deployment of defensive facilities in the region is believed to be partly motivated by the US military build-up.   

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