Jiaolong-2010 amphibious exercise

Chinese Marine Corps stages live-action drill in South China Sea

http://military.globaltimes.cn/china/2010-11/588894.html

By Deng Jingyin

The Marine Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) staged a military drill in the disputed South China Sea Tuesday as representatives from more than 40 countries observed, the China News Service reported.

The Marine Corps' annual war games included amphibious combat military exercises during drill codenamed Jiaolong-2010. Some 1,800 naval forces and at least 100 warships, submarines and combat aircrafts took part in yesterday's live-fire exercises.

More than 200 military students from 40 countries and regions observed the exercises that included assault drills. They discussed the exercises with commanding officers.

The officer responsible for the drills said the war games were intended to showcase a modern Chinese Marine Corps to the world and it was also a way to learn from China's counterparts in other countries.

"This is basically a routine military exercise but it is also based on the current combat situation in the South China Sea," Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times yesterday.

Analysts said that the show of military capability highlights China's concerns in the area, the site of previous disputes with other nations.

"It was not a special signal, but we chose that theater to show our naval capacity and strength," Li said. "Some countries intervene in the South China Sea in recent years, jointly conducting military exercises with our neighboring countries, so it's time for us to oppose these intervention with power politics," he said.