China holds new naval drill as Xi steps up military rhetoric

China conducted new naval exercises on Wednesday, a report quoting maritime officials said, amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea and as President Xi Jinping urged the military to “focus on war preparedness and combat capabilities”. The state-owned Global Times quoted the country’s maritime safety agency as saying that drills were taking place in the Bohai Sea in China’s northeast from 6am to 5pm (22:00 GMT Tuesday – 09:00 GMT Wednesday). It was unclear what specific naval manoeuvres and hardware were involved in the day-long event, but Bohai was part of bigger naval activities in September that included live-fire exercises. At that time, China prohibited all non-military ships in the areas where drills were taking place. Earlier on Tuesday, Xi inspected the elite Chinese navy and marine corps stationed in Guangdong Province in the south, during which he called for a speedier upgrade of their combat capabilities “to forge a powerful troop, with battlewise soldiers,” according to state media. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">