《TAIPEI TIMES》 Chinese air force conducts an ‘island encirclement patrol’

OUTREACH: The PLAAF asked people to name the island in images posted online of the flight group, which the defense ministry said did not fly irregularly

By Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with CNA

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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force （PLAAF） yesterday said its aircraft had on Monday conducted an “island encirclement patrol,” after the militaries of Taiwan and Japan reported Chinese activity near their airspace.

The Ministry of National Defense on Monday said a Chinese air group flew over the Miyako Strait and into the Western Pacific before returning.

A detachment from the group continued down the Bashi Channel and returned to China, the ministry said.

PLAAF spokesman Colonel Shen Jinke （申進科） told Chinese media that its aircraft carried out an “island encirclement patrol” as part of its “regular and routine” deep-ocean training.

The air group was comprised of Xian H-6K bombers, Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, Shenyang J-11 fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft, advanced warning and control systems, transport planes and refueling planes, Sheng said.

The exercise aimed to “maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” while improving the air arm’s “actual combat capabilities” and “deep-ocean mobility,” he said.

The patrol was a “legal and reasonable” exercise of the PLAAF’s mission under international law and customs, Sheng said.

The PLAAF must enhance its combat capabilities in the new era as per the instructions issued during the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress in October, he added.

The PLAAF is to increase the depth and range of its reach, broaden its strategic vision and maintain its vigilance as planned, Sheng said.

“Our strategic capabilities, strategic interest and strategic support must be mutually reinforcing,” he said.

The PLAAF posted on the Internet images of armed bombers and fighters fitting the description in its statement and asked people to name the island.

The ministry said in a news release that the Chinese air group followed a flight path that was mostly identical to one used last year and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

“As Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan （馮世寬） instructed, the military closely monitored the communist aircraft. Our aircraft and ships conducted reconnaissance and reaction missions as appropriate to the situation,” the ministry said. “There is no need for public alarm.”

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES