China’s navy carried out drills in the South China Sea to simulate fending off an aerial attack, state media said on Friday, as the country trades barbs with the United States over responsibility for heightened tension in the disputed waterway. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed concern during a visit to Beijing on Thursday over China’s efforts to militarize the seas. The United States and China have frequently sparred over who is militarizing the South China Sea, with Beijing blaming tensions on actions such as the freedom of navigation" operations carried out by the US navy.

China holds missile drills in South China Sea amid heightened tensions. (2018, June 16). Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 5.