ASEAN, China to hold joint maritime exercises
(Baonghean.vn)- Philippine officials announced on October 8 that Southeast Asian navies will conduct maritime exercises with their Chinese counterparts in Zhanjiang city (China) later this month.
Speaking to reporters, Philippine Defense Department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the exercise is scheduled to take place from October 22-29 in Zhanjiang city, more than 2,000 km south of the Chinese capital Beijing.
"The proposal to conduct a joint ASEAN-China exercise was submitted last February," the official said. Andolong added that the Philippine Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad, is likely to participate in the exercise.
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| The sea area is disputed between some ASEAN member countries and China. Photo: AP |
In August, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conducted a mock exercise in Singapore that included coordinated search and rescue scenarios involving a simulated collision at sea.
To avoid controversy, the two sides agreed that the exercises would take place in an area far from the East Sea, a long-disputed area between four ASEAN member countries and China.
At the annual meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Singapore two months ago, ASEAN countries and China reached an agreement on a single negotiating draft text as the basis for negotiations on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC)./.
