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September 26, 2016

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China Air Force conducts Western Pacific sea drill

Source: Agencies | September 26, 2016, Monday | Print Edition

CHINA’S Air Force said yesterday it had flown more than 40 bombers and other fighter planes through the Miyako Strait in the East China Sea on their way to a routine drill on the high seas in the Western Pacific.

Regular long range drills in the Western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea air defence identification zone were for the Air Force to protect China’s sovereignty and national security, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Defence website.

China in 2013 imposed an Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities.

The patrols were to “carefully monitor and judge the foreign military aircraft that enter the anti-aircraft defence zone, to take measures to respond to different threats in the sky and to protect national airspace,” the statement said.

Shen Jinke, spokesperson of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, said the fleet, including H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters, and air tankers, conducted reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling to test the Air Force’s fighting capacity on the high seas.

Bombers and fighters of the Air Force also conducted routine patrol in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone yesterday.

Shen said routine drills in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ are conducted “in accordance with the needs of the Air Force to defend national sovereignty and security, as well as to maintain peaceful development.”

Since the ADIZ was set up nearly three years ago, the Air Force has kept regular patrols. The Air Force will continue patrolling in the East China Sea ADIZ to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of China. It will keep conducting various training to improve its combat capacity, Shen said.

China’s Navy has often used the Miyako Strait as a pathway from eastern China to the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier this month, Chinese bombers, fighters and early warning and aerial refuelling aircraft flew through the Bashi Channel to drills in the Western Pacific.

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