South China Morning Post: China stages high-profile naval drill off Korean peninsula
Show of military might ahead of PLA anniversary aimed at demonstrating Beijing’s resolve amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang, analysts say.
China is flexing its military muscle in a high-profile naval exercise in the Yellow Sea, off the western coast of the Korean peninsula, days ahead of the PLA’s 90th anniversary.
Beijing has so far released scant information about the three-day live-fire drill, which is expected to last through Saturday, but analysts say it is also aimed at demonstrating China’s resolve amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear provocations.
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Update #1: China closes east seas for military drills (Defense News/AP)
Update #2: China's Navy Will Seal Off Part of Yellow Sea for 'Large-Scale' Military Drill (Sputnik).
WNU Editor: These drills are ending today .... but what I found interesting about this story are not the drills, but that North Korea decided in the middle of them to test launch a ballistic missile. We in the West see North Korea through a Western prism, but North Korea is sometimes more focused on doing things that also sends message to China. I am speculating now .... but this could be one of those cases where North Korea decided to send a message to both the West and to China.
