Chinese naval warships fire missiles during a live-fire military drill in the waters of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, off China's east coast, Aug 7, 2017. (Reuters file photo)SHANGHAI: Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency. "If you look at warships and other equipment, the gap between the Indian and Chinese navy is not large," Sina.com.cn said on Sunday. On Friday, the People's Liberation Army posted photos and a story on rescue training exercises taking place in the East Indian Ocean on its official Twitter-like Weibo account. China has drawn criticism in the West for its perceived military build-up of the neighbouring South China Sea, where it has built and expanded islands and reefs.

Source: Bangkok Post February 20, 2018 10:07 UTC