Chinese military has unveiled a range of new weapons, including long-range missiles, amid calls by its top officials to be combat-ready following a landmark verdict by an UN-backed tribunal that struck down China’s “historical rights” in the South China Sea.
The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s liberation Army (PlA) which looks after the South China Sea front has unveiled a series of new weapons for sea and air combat during a visit by top military officers.
The weapons were shown on state television in the wake of a landmark international tribunal rejecting Beijing’s claims to almost all of the South China Sea and upheld the claim of the Philippines.
Military experts said the rare public display was intended to show that the newly formed Southern Theatre Command, was well-prepared for any potential military confrontation
with the US, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Friday.
The display conceded with the visit to the centre by General Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China’s highest military official after President Xi Jinping.