Beijing has named Hu Zhongming as the new head of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at a ceremony attended by President Xi Jinping.
Chinese media reported that Hu was promoted to the rank of general during Monday’s ceremony. In the PLA, general is the highest rank for officers in active service. The Chinese military is known for providing scarce details on its personnel appointments.
The situation is regularly complicated by US warships passing through the South China Sea, which, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, violate international law and undermine China's sovereignty and security. Despite protests from Beijing, Washington has repeatedly stated that US vessels would pass wherever international law permitted.
Beijing has disputed the status of several territories in the South China Sea for decades, laying claim to primarily the Paracel and Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal. The territories are also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
The PRC considers the Spratly archipelago an essential part of China, despite the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that said there was no legal basis for China's maritime claims. The Hague argued that the archipelago is not an island and does not constitute an exclusive economic zone, but Beijing refused to recognize the decision. The arbitration proceeding was initiated by the Philippines in January 2013.
Adding to South China Sea tensions is the continued Beijing-Taipei row over Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters last week that Beijing's stance on reunification with Taiwan remains "solid as a rock," with China considering it inevitable.
The latest escalation around Taiwan took place in April after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Beijing responded by launching massive three-day military drills near the island in what it called a warning to Taiwanese separatists and foreign powers. In August and September, the Taiwanese armed forces reported multiple sightings of Chinese naval and air patrols in the island's vicinity. On September 18, the ministry reported a record high of 103 Chinese aircraft seen near the island in one day.
Taiwan has been governed separately from mainland China since 1949. Beijing regards the island as its province, while Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous entity but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contact with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.
Although the US does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Washington has a representative office in Taipei and remains the island's biggest supplier of military hardware. The US also often sends its warships and surveillance planes to the Taiwan Strait, a move that Beijing condemns as provocative.