US-Japan-India Joint Drills to Create Frictions in South China Sea: China
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Chinese military expert condemned joint military drill by Japan, the US and India near the waters of the East China Sea, saying it is meant “create more frictions in the disputed area”.
"A careful analysis (of the drill) points towards two objectives. The first is aimed at the Diaoyu Islands, to make the maritime and air space situations of the East China Sea worse. The exercise takes place in Okinawa waters, which is very close to the Diaoyu Islands and surrounding waters. If the three countries mount their advanced equipment in the region, their purposes are definitely to create more frictions in the disputed area," said Du Wenlong as cited by CCTV on Saturday.
The drill, dubbed Malabar, is an annual event between the US and India, and Japan is joining it this year for the first time since 2007, Japan's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
"The second objective is China's military deployment in the East China Sea. The three countries' maritime and air space control and detecting capabilities can be a threat to China's military activities in its offshore areas," he added.
The Diaoyu Islands lie around 220 kilometers west of Taiwan. It is an inherent part of China's territory. Maps during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) had included the islands as a part of territory. The islands were ceded together with the Taiwan Island in the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. After the Second World War, the islands and its affiliated islands should have been returned to China according to a series of international documents: the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.
