BEIJING – China will conduct military training in the South China Sea from July 29 to Aug. 2 covering a large area including the Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank, its Maritime Safety Administration said on Friday.
Vessels are banned from entering the area during the training, it said in a notice.
China claims most of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea. The Paracel Islands, consists of 30 islands, is occupied by China, but also claimed partly by Vietnam and Taiwan.
The Macclesfield Bank, an entirely underwater atoll of reefs and shoals east of Paracels, is administered by China’s Sansha town but also claimed by Taiwan.—Reporting by Albee Zhang and Liz Lee; editing by Jason Neely, Robert Birsel