Xi makes surprise visit to fleet in South China Sea drill

In this April 12, 2018 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, speaks after he reviewed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea. China has announced live-fire military exercises in the Taiwan Strait amid heightened tensions over increased American support for Taiwan. The announcement by authorities in the coastal province of Fujian on Thursday was accompanied by a statement that the navy was ending a three-day exercise in the South China one day early. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday stressed the “urgent” need to build a powerful navy during a surprise visit to observe naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea, state media reported as the country prepares for live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait.

The region has become a potential flashpoint, with the US saying China’s activities in the area pose a threat to freedom of navigation in the strategically vital waterway, where Beijing has built an archipelago of artificial islands capable of hosting military equipment.

Footage of Xi’s visit on state broadcaster CCTV showed the president watching jets taking off from China’s sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and joining sailors for a meal.

In a speech to the assembled troops, Xi said China’s task to build a powerful navy “has never been as urgent as it is today.”

His visit comes as Washington engages in its own muscle flexing in the region, where the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt gave a demonstration Tuesday for members of the Philippine government.

China’s own naval drill — involving the Liaoning and dozens of other vessels — began at the end of March, with US officials saying the two exercises are separated by several hundred kilometers.

Some 48 warships, 76 fighter jets, and more than 10,000 navy personnel took part in the drill at an undisclosed location, said China Military, a newspaper affiliated to the People’s Liberation Army.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea despite rival claims from several of its Southeast Asian neighbors.

China regularly protests when US warships’ carry out “freedom of navigation” operations near its islands.

Live-fire exercise

Xi’s visit came as China announced plans to hold live-fire naval drills next week in the narrow strait separating the mainland from Taiwan, an act that could ratchet up tensions with the island.

“Live-fire military maneuvers will take place… in the Taiwan Strait on (Wednesday) April 18, 2018 between 8 a.m. and midnight,” the maritime safety administration of Fujian, the province that lies opposite Taiwan, said in a statement.

China, which regards self-ruled Taiwan as its territory — to be reunited by force if necessary — has stepped up air and naval patrols around the island since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in May 2016.

She refuses publicly to accept the “One China” formula agreed between Beijing and Taiwan’s previous government.

Chinese warplanes conducted 25 drills around Taiwan between August 2016 and mid-December last year, according to Taipei.

The Liaoning and other vessels passed through the Taiwan Strait on March 20 — the day Xi warned against any attempts to divide China.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it would keep a close eye on the upcoming exercise.

“The defense ministry stresses that the military can comprehensively monitor and respond to the regional situation to ensure national security. We ask the public to rest assured,” it said in a statement.