Recently, the People’s Liberation Army conducted drills in the South China Sea involving landing ships. The exercise, which lasted for four days, featured the landing ships Danxiashan, Laotieshan, and Lushan. The training tasks included berthing two ships alongside each other and practicing rescue operations. These drills come at a time of tension over disputed islands with the Philippines. The specific date of the drills was not provided in the report by CCTV, the state broadcaster.
According to a report from CCTV, the fleet conducted air-defence training, successfully forcing the “enemy’s” drones to retreat after multiple rounds of fire. The video also showed the Type 072 III tank landing ship, Danxiashan, providing cover to other warships by releasing smoke.
The purpose of the drills was to test the Chinese navy’s emergency response and coordinated combat capabilities. The Lushan, a Type 073A landing ship, was involved in the exercises. These landing ships are designed to transport and deploy troops, vehicles, and supplies during amphibious operations.
While larger amphibious vessels can carry more troops and equipment and release them further from shore, the smaller Type 072 and Type 073 series landing ships have a specific role in directly grounding operations on islands and reefs, as explained by an anonymous military analyst quoted in Global Times.
In March, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy conducted drills in the South China Sea with its landing ships, Wuzhishan and Changbaishan. This comes at a time of ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines in the disputed region, particularly over Second Thomas Shoal, known as Renai Jiao by China and Ayungin Shoal by the Philippines. In the most recent clash, the Chinese coastguard conducted a “boarding inspection” on a Philippine boat involved in a supply mission to a grounded Philippine warship in the disputed area.
Manila has accused the Chinese coastguard of physically attacking and damaging its vessels. It was reported that eight Philippine sailors were injured in the confrontation, with one losing a thumb.
In response to these incidents, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that his country will not be intimidated by anyone, although he did not specifically mention China. He also encouraged the sailors involved in the resupply mission to continue fulfilling their duty of defending the nation.
These recent drills occurred after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced conducting multiple training exercises in the disputed waters. One exercise involved deploying three large Type 055 destroyers, but the exact date of the drill was not disclosed.
Earlier this month, Chinese navy ships, including a Type 075 amphibious assault ship and a Type 071 amphibious landing ship, were sighted separately in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
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