China plans naval drills amid islands spat

A Chinese fleet of three warships will engage in naval exercises and war games in the Western Pacific, possibly entering disputed waters in the East and South China Sea, Reuters reported, citing state-owned Xinhua News Agency. The ships, which left port on Wednesday, will conduct more than 20 types of exercises including “the protection of maritime rights and command and control,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “These exercises on the high seas will take in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the seas to the east of Taiwan,” according to the statement.