PLA air force vows to continue training and patrols over East and South China seas
Drills and patrols are legitimate and responsible military activities, says spokesman
The mainland Chinese air force said on Thursday it would continue training and patrols in the air space over the East and South China seas, following recently intensified drills that have rattled Taiwan and Japan.
The People’s Liberation Army air force would keep training and patrolling the air space in accordance with its schedule, spokesman Shen Jinke said.
In a statement posted on the PLA air force microblog, Shen said his remark was in response to recent reports from Taiwan and overseas media about the mainland’s H-6K nuclear bombers flying over waterways near Taiwan and through the Bashi Channel and Japan’s Miyako Strait.
Such flights have became more frequent since a telephone call between Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and US president-elect Donald Trump on December 2, which broke a norm since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.
Shen said such flights are “regular and legal training and patrol missions” to defend China’s sovereignty in the region.