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China routinely
holds drills in the disputed waterway, and the latest exercises
come less than a week after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near
the Paracel Islands, prompting a warning from Chinese warships
to leave the area.
The maritime administration gave coordinates for an area south
of the Chinese island province of Hainan and northwest of the
Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan,
but controlled by China.
The brief statement gave no other details, apart from
prohibiting other ships from entering the area.
China's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
China has a runway on Woody Island, its largest presence on the
Paracels, and has placed surface-to-air missiles there,
according to U.S. officials.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have
rival claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing's is the
largest. It argues it can do what it wants on the islands it
claims as they have been Chinese since ancient times.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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