Chinese Militia Boats Headed Toward ASEAN-India Navy Exercises

Several Chinese maritime militia vessels have changed course and are headed toward a group of ASEAN and Indian ships conducting joint maritime exercises.

According to Ray Powell, the project lead at Stanford’s Gordian Knot Center project Myoushu (South China Sea), the Chinese militia vessels changed course and headed towards the group of ASEAN-India Maritime Exercises (AIME) vessels at around 7 p.m. on Sunday evening.

Powell tweeted the latest development in the region:

BREAKING: Five #China maritime militia ships appear to have interrupted their deployment to the Spratlys and turned directly into the path of the 7-ship #ASEAN-#India Maritime Exercise formation.

UPDATE 2: About 3.5 hours ago, 3 additional #China maritime militia ships left Subi Reef & headed SW in the general direction of the #ASEAN-#India Maritime Exercise formation.
Meanwhile, the 1st 5 militia ships are now ~145km from the AIME formation, still on an intercept course.

The inaugural AIME, which started on May 2, involves ships from the navies of the Philippines, Singapore, India, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Beijing has long asserted its sovereignty in the South China Sea and areas within the so-called nine-dash line, which stretches beyond China’s maritime entitlements as ruled by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016. This includes intrusions into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, which falls within the 200 nautical mile zone from Philippine shores.

The Chinese nine-dash line claim also overlaps with claims by Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Despite the tensions, officials from the participating countries downplayed the situation. Singapore’s Ministry of Defense said that the sea phase of the training would be conducted in “international waters along the transit route to the Philippines.” The exercise involves nine ships from the participating countries and six aircraft from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The Philippine Navy confirmed that its vessel, BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), would be participating along with a “140-strong” contingent.

The six-day exercises have over 1,800 personnel joining from ASEAN member states and India. Participants are expected to track simulated vessels of interest, following alerts from ASEAN International Liaison Officers at the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Information Fusion Center through its real-time information-sharing system. (GFB)