Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe speaks during the fourth plenary session of the 18th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue, an annual defense and security forum in Asia, in Singapore, Sunday, June 2, 2019. (Yong Teck Lim/Associated Press)BEIJING — China began two days of military training in the South China Sea Sunday, as its defense minister warned that China’s armed forces would “resolutely take action” to defend Beijing’s claims over the area. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own territory and strongly objects to naval activity in the area by other nations. China has expanded through reclamation or built entirely new man-made islands atop coral reefs to cement its footprint in the area, equipping many of them with military installations and airfields. The People’s Liberation Army would not “yield a single inch of the country’s sacred land,” Wei told participants at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Source: Washington Post June 02, 2019 07:21 UTC