MOD: navy drills do not target neighbors

The Xinhua News Agency reported on July 15 that the Philippine navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on Ren'ai Reef that China claims in the South China Sea.

Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Charles Jose, said the ship is "for the safety of its personnel and safety of navigation."

A May CNN report revealed that a US surveillance aircraft received eight warnings from the Chinese navy, asking the plane to leave as it swooped over some of the islets of the Nansha Islands chain in the South China Sea.

The US and Japan also conducted separate military drills with the Philippines in the South China Sea in June, signaling two major countries' support for Manila.

Dismissing speculations that the drills conducted by the Chinese navy have been aimed at the three countries, Xu told the Global Times on Wednesday that the drills cannot be hastily conducted to respond to recent incidents, since the navy has to prepare a drill for a long time in order to fully test the navy's weapons and tactics.

The locations prove that they are regular and non-offensive drills, Liu Feng, an expert on South China Sea studies, told the Global Times, adding that the drills are taking place near Hainan Island and the Xisha Islands, far from the disputed waters in the South China Sea.