The live-ammunition drills involved more than 100 ships, dozens of
aircraft, information warfare units as well as the nuclear force,
the state-backed China Military Online said in a report posted on
the defense ministry's website.
It did not specify where exactly the exercises took place.
China claims most of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea,
through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and
rejects the rival claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei,
Malaysia and Taiwan.
The United States has called on claimants to settle differences
through talks and has said its Pacific Fleet aims to protect sea
lanes critical to U.S. trade with Southeast Asia and the oil-rich
Middle East.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jul/28/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png) China rejects U.S. involvement in the dispute and its more assertive
approach recently, which has included land reclamation and
construction on disputed reefs, has raised tension.
The latest exercises focused on integrating information warfare
systems with air and naval forces, as well as testing the combat
effectiveness of new weapons and equipment, China Military Online
said.
The military achieved "new breakthroughs" in several areas including
engaging high-speed low-altitude targets, anti-submarine warfare and
intercepting supersonic anti-ship missiles with surface warships, it
added.
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The drills used "all sorts of information technology tactics" to
create simulated reconnaissance, surveillance, and early warning
systems to detect air and sea targets in real time, it said.
The exercises were conducted in "a complex electromagnetic
environment" involving many types of missiles, torpedoes, shells and
bombs, it said.
China's navy on Saturday played down its recent exercises in the
South China Sea and criticized other countries for "illegally"
occupying islands and reefs.
(Reporting By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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