Navy plans drill in East China Sea
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 10, 2012
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Chinese navy on drill. [File photo] |
The live-fire drill is part of an annual exercise conducted in the East China Sea, regularly held around the same time and in the same area, Song Xiaojun, a military affairs commentator, told China National Radio.
It's impossible for any navy to temporarily organize a drill to counteract the others since it usually needs at least six months to prepare for it, Meng Xiangqing, deputy director of the Strategic Research Institute at the National Defense University of the PLA, said.
Considering ocean and weather conditions, Asia-Pacific countries, including China, often carry out naval drills between May and July, he said. "Most exercises are to improve campaign capability at first, but may also demonstrate strength and sovereignty."
On Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's statement that his government was negotiating with a "private owner" to "nationalize" part of the Diaoyu Islands triggered a strong reaction over sovereignty from China.
On the same day, China's Foreign Ministry responded on its website that China's territory is not allowed to be bought or sold by anyone, and the country will continue to take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the islands' sovereignty.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin on Monday reiterated the stance at the daily news conference, saying that the ministry and the Chinese embassy in Japan on Saturday lodged solemn representations to Tokyo over its latest move.
Indisputable historical and jurisprudential evidence shows that "the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets have been inherent parts of Chinese territory since ancient times", he said.
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