China wary of South Korea, US, Japan security cooperation

Missile destroyer Suzhou of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy returns to a military port in Zhoushan, China's eastern province of Zhejiang, Nov. 15, 2022. Xinhua-Yonhap

Beijing conducts major naval drill in West Sea

By Lee Hyo-jin

China held a major naval drill in the West Sea, Tuesday, in an apparent protest over strengthened security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan which was displayed by a trilateral missile defense exercise carried out the previous day.

According to Chinese media, China's Maritime Safety Administration on Monday uploaded an announcement on its website that a major military exercise would take place in in its eastern waters from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (local time) the next day. It also warned that civilian vessels would be banned from entering the designated area in the waters off Shandong Province during the exercise, without providing further details.

Local analysts saw the naval drill, which came just a day after the combined exercise between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, as highlighting Beijing's deepening skepticism over the trilateral military cooperation.

On Monday, the three allies staged a missile defense exercise in international waters between South Korea and Japan, mobilizing three Aegis-equipped destroyers ― ROKS Yulgok Yi I, USS Benfold and JS Atago ― to enhance readiness against North Korean missile threats.

“Although it is not the first time China has carried out a military exercise in the West Sea, the fact that it publicly announced the drills beforehand seems to be influenced by the trilateral exercise that took place the previous day,” said Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

“As South Korea, the U.S. and Japan step up military partnerships to respond to North Korea's provocation, China and Russia are also showing corresponding actions in the form of military drills,” he added, mentioning that Russia's reconnaissance aircraft IL-20 flew over waters to the east of the Korean Peninsula on April 14, the same day U.S. B-52 strategic bombers were deployed there in a joint aerial exercise with South Korea and Japan.

South Korean Navy's destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I, the U.S. Navy's destroyer USS Benfold and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Atago take part in a joint naval missile defense exercise in international waters between Korea and Japan, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Defense

Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies said, “Tuesday's drill seems to be a part of a routine military exercise but given the timing and other circumstances, the military activity in the West Sea implies that Beijing is becoming increasingly wary of trilateral security cooperation between the U.S. and its two Asian allies.”

He believed that compared to other seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the West Sea, known outside of Korea as the Yellow Sea, is where China can most easily demonstrate its force.

Kang also pointed out the fact that the exercise was held just a week ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to Washington for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden slated for April 26, saying, “It could be perceived as a message for Seoul to rethink its strategy of boosting alliance only with Washington.”

Beijing has been expressing discontent over the Yoon administration's foreign policy leaning toward the U.S., warning that it will come at the price of worsening ties with China.