Amid the festering South China Sea issue between China and the United States, Beijing has agreed to join the US-led naval drills in the Pacific later this month along with other Asian countries.

The Chinese defense ministry announced on Thursday that it would send a fleet of five naval vessels, which include two warships and a hospital ship to the military exercise dubbed Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) .

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The defense ministry said the flotilla of ships would participate in numerous naval exercises such as search and rescue, live fire drills, anti-piracy exercises and other military drills.

The Rim of the Pacific is the world's largest multinational maritime warfare exercise and is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years off the Hawaii coast.

Invitation

China was invited by the US defense department to join the naval exercises despite opposition from US lawmakers, including Senator John McCain, who urged Washington to ban Beijing from the drills.

McCain said the ban was a way of showing US' disapproval of Beijing's increasing military actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Tensions between the US and China continue to escalate in the South China Sea region over Beijing's increasing assertiveness in laying claims to almost the entirety of the disputed waters in spite of partial claims from Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

The South China Sea is believed to have large deposits of oil and gas, through which $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes every year.

Condemnation

Beijing has reclaimed several disputed reefs and islands and  turned them into military facilities by constructing airstrips and missile launchers in the South China Sea, a move that drew criticism from the international community.

Last week, China responded to another word war with Washington when US defense secretary Ashton Carter said: "China's actions could erect a Great Wall of Self-Isolation."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that Beijing will continue to defend its sovereignty and that it will not be threatened by any rhetoric of the US.

"China has no interest in any form of Cold War, nor are we interested in playing a role in a Hollywood movie written and directed by certain US military officials," she said.

"However, China has no fear of and will counter any actions that threaten and undermine China's sovereignty and security," she added.

Chunying said that Carter's remark was a way of covering up Washington's plans to militarize the region by deploying more ships and planes in the contested waters. 

TagsRim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), naval exercises, china, South China Sea, US, ashton carter, RIMPAC, naval drill