China and Singapore will hold joint naval drills this week, Beijing’s defence ministry said on Monday.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy will dispatch its frigate Yulin as well as the Chibi minesweeper for the drills, which will take place around Singapore from “end-April to early May”, the ministry said in a statement.
The two countries agreed last year to hold the drills at a meeting of defence ministers, though details were not announced at the time.
Singapore regularly conducts drills with countries from the region and around the world, with personnel from the city-state taking part in the massive Cobra Gold exercises with US soldiers in Thailand in March.
The announcement comes days after the US Commander of the Pacific Air Forces met with Singapore’s defence minister Ng Eng Hen to discuss enhanced cooperation in military training.
Chinese Navy representatives will also participate in the IMDEX Asia naval and maritime defence expo in Singapore next month, the ministry said.
The Southeast Asian country has for decades juggled ties with rival powers in the region, engaging in an increasingly delicate balancing act as China asserts its might across the Asia-Pacific.
Foreign ministers from Group of 7 industrialised nations warned this month against “China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea”, while tensions have soared in the Taiwan Strait with Beijing brandishing its firepower in recent drills aimed at intimidating Taipei.
China and Singapore have previously held naval exercises in the South China Sea, including multiple joint exercises in 2021.
China says respects ‘sovereign’ status of all ex-Soviet states
China said on Monday it respected the “sovereign state status” of all ex-Soviet countries, after Beijing’s ambassador to France sparked outrage in Europe by questioning the sovereignty of those nations.
“China respects the sovereign state status of the participating republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
Beijing’s ambassador to France Lu Shaye triggered a furore after suggesting that countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union “don’t have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations”.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell branded the remarks “unacceptable”, adding in a tweet the EU “can only suppose these declarations do not represent China’s official policy”.
Mao told journalists: “China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with relevant countries.
“Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual respect and equality to develop bilateral friendly and cooperative relations.”
