(BGF) – According to the Voice of America, Chinese officials were warning against any joint military patrols or exercises between Vietnam and the Philippines in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China calls Nansha. China has claimed that it has “indisputable sovereignty” and the adjacent waters over the Nansha Islands.

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China Warns Against Joint Exercises in South China Seas

March 28, 2012 by Shannon Sant

Photo Credit: A general view of the third international workshop on the South China Sea, Hanoi, November 4, 2011.

(Voice of America) – Chinese officials in Beijing are warning against any joint military patrols or exercises between Vietnam and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea.

Vietnam and Philippines military officials have discussed conducting joint exercises in the disputed region in meetings earlier this month. The exercises could include joint patrols of the Spratly Islands, which both countries and China claim as their own.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei warned against any exercises in the Spratlys, which China calls Nansha.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, he said, and the adjacent waters. Hong also said China is opposed to foreign countries’ violation of China’s sovereign rights and interests.

There have been a series of run-ins involving fishermen, military patrols, and other vessels in the disputed region in recent months, increasing tension over the competing territorial claims. Philippine and Vietnamese officials have discussed establishing a communication hotline for possible disputes, as well as sharing shipbuilding expertise.

A visiting professor at the National University of Singapore, Huang Jing, a China foreign policy analyst, said Beijing is unlikely to back down on its claims to the resource rich waters.

“China is getting stronger and stronger, the so called peaceful rise, and the rise of nationalism in China on the one hand, and also the increasing demand for external resources and the market so all of a sudden the territory dispute in the South China Seas has become a kind of priority in the policy discussion and internal debate,” Huang Jing said.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim South China Sea territories. China has claimed the largest portion of territory.

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