South China Sea: Chinese air force steps up combat-readiness drills

Aircraft from various theatre commands carry out range of exercises, including simulated raids and mid-air refuelling, state media report

PLA pilot also warns off another plane from ‘Chinese territorial airspace’

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Chinese air force has conducted a number of combat-readiness exercises in the South China Sea “recently”, according to official sources. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:12pm, 4 Aug 2020Updated: 3:20pm, 5 Aug 2020

Three of China’s five main military regions have mounted air combat readiness exercises as tensions rise with the United States in the South China Sea, state media reported on Tuesday.

One aircraft was also sent to warn off other planes in the area, according to an online news service.

Haike News, a news app operated by the overseas edition of Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, posted a video saying the Southern Theatre Command sent various aircraft, including an Su-30 fighter and an aerial refuelling tanker, to Subi Reef, a South China Sea atoll that China expanded into an artificial island.

00:45

Chinese air force troops carry out air defence drill over the South China Sea

The exercise lasted more than 10 hours and also involved mid-air refuelling, the video said, without saying when the drill took place.

“Our aim is not to push the limit or break a record. All our exercises are aimed at [preparing for] actual combat,” it said.

Subi Reef, in the Spratly Islands, is controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

03:23

The South China Sea dispute explained

In a second video released by Haike News on Tuesday, a Chinese air force pilot warned another aircraft from entering “Chinese territorial airspace”.

South China Sea: Chinese air force steps up combat-readiness drills

Aircraft from various theatre commands carry out range of exercises, including simulated raids and mid-air refuelling, state media report PLA pilot also warns off another plane from ‘Chinese territorial airspace’

Aircraft from various theatre commands carry out range of exercises, including simulated raids and mid-air refuelling, state media report

PLA pilot also warns off another plane from ‘Chinese territorial airspace’