China-ASEAN joint maritime exercise to be held in Zhanjiang

A live-force maritime exercise between China and the ASEAN will take place in the waters off the city of Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, in late October.

This was announced by Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, when he answered reporters' questions at a monthly press conference on Aug 30.

According to Wu, the joint maritime exercise will be conducted in two phases. The first phase was a tabletop exercise, which was already conducted at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore from Aug 2 to 3.

China and the 10 ASEAN countries will all participate in the live-force exercise in October, which mainly involves the application of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, as well as joint maritime search and rescue operations.

The exercises will consist of formation maneuvers, formation communications, joint search and rescues, and helicopter landings on each other's ships.

This military exercise is a result of the consensus reached between defense ministers of China and the ASEAN countries in deepening security and defense cooperation as well as mutual trust.

It is expected to help strengthen the military relationship between China and the ASEAN countries, ramp up maritime security cooperation, and enhance joint capabilities to respond to security threats.