China says ‘normal’ naval drills nothing to do with South China Sea tensions

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Beijing, June 30(ANI): China has said that the recent naval exercises of their country were routine and had nothing to do with the situation in the South China Sea.

“We have noted media reports about the navy’s training activities,” the China Daily quoted a Ministry of National Defense spokesman, as saying.

The spokesman asked the media not to read too much into the “normal training activities”.

The People’s Liberation Army had recently conducted a series of exercises, including one off the southern island province of Hainan, raising speculation that they were related to tension in the South China Sea.

China claims that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the entire South China Sea.

However, recently, the Philippines accused China of entering its waters multiple times, and Vietnam accused it of limiting its oil exploration efforts in a part of the sea that Vietnam claims as its economic exclusive zone.

Malaysia and Brunei are also occasionally dragged into the dispute. (ANI)