Australian submarine and other warships in Bersama Lima 2014. (Photo : FPDA)
The United Kingdom and four of its former colonies that are now members of the Commonwealth of Nations are holding a massive combined naval drill in the South China Sea this month to remind China to obey international law and not threaten Singapore.
Media reports said the drill intends to send China a not too subtle message to back off on its claims to disputed territory in the South China Sea an international tribunal on July 12 ruled China has no legal claims to.
It also follows very public spat between Singapore and Global Times, one of the Communist Party of China's newspapers, over Singapore's saying China should respect the rule of law in the South China Sea.
Singapore has championed a "rules-based international order" since before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague declared illegal China's nine-dash line it uses as the basis for its claim to own most of the South China Sea.
China has taken that position to mean Singapore is anti-China and is, therefore, deserving of criticism.
The timing of the drill is ominous and follows recent drills by the United States and the Philippines; by the Indian Navy in the South China Sea and by Japan, India and the United States in the Western Pacific.
Warships from the Royal Navy will join their sister ships from the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy in the three-week long drill named "Exercise Bersama Lima 2016" that began Oct. 4 and will end Oct. 21.
Exercise Bersama Lima is the annual Five Powers Defense Arrangement (FPDA) Exercise. The FPDA requires its member countries to consult each other and take action if there is an attack on either Malaysia or Singapore.
The exercise provides an opportunity for the navies, ground forces and planes of the five Commonwealth countries to improve integration and interoperability.
Strengthening the professional relationships with FPDA member countries was important to ensure interoperability, said Commander Joint Forces New Zealand Maj. Gen. Tim Gall.
