Chinese Navy Deploys Drones in South China Sea Missile Drills

• Chinese Navy Deploys Drones in South China Sea Missile Drills
  by Laura Zhou, http://www.scmp.com/frontpage/hk
  Report comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ‘reaffirmed deep concerns about building and militarising outposts’ in the contested waters.
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  China has carried out drills in the South China Sea to simulate fending off an aerial attack, state media said on Friday, in the latest show of military muscle amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over the strategic waterway.
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  The drills, which involved three target drones making flyovers of a ship formation at varying heights and directions, are part of ongoing efforts by China’s navy to improve its real-life combat ability, the official PLA Daily said in a report.
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  It said the drones were used to “precisely verify the feasibility and effectiveness to ensure a close stimulation of an aerial attack target”. The drones had already been sent out several hundred times during more than 30 previous drills, according to the newspaper.
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  It did not give details of the drills – including when and where in the South China Sea they were held and which PLA Navy base was involved – but the report came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Beijing on Thursday to brief the Chinese leadership on this week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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