Beijing again flexes military muscle, sending fighter jets, bombers around Taiwan
Island’s air force says it deployed F-16s to monitor latest military manoeuvres
Beijing on Friday conducted encirclement drills around Taiwan with its new Su-35 fighter jets as it again flexed its military muscle amid tensions with the self-ruled island.
The “innovative joint operation” involved two theatre commands and the aircraft flew in opposite directions around the island, PLA air force spokesman Senior Colonel Shen Jinke said.
The Sukhoi Su-35 fighters flew with H-6K strategic bombers across the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the northern islands of the Philippines, Shen said at an airport in southern China.
China warns of more action after military drills near Taiwan
Other bombers, along with J-11 fighters and KJ-200 early warning aircraft, flew over the Miyako Strait between Taiwan and Japan, he said.
They then flew over the east coast of Taiwan to the western Pacific for exercises that involved early warning systems, detection and assaults, according to Shen.
“Our squadron for these Western Pacific and Taiwan missions will involve more and more new types of aircraft,” the air force spokesman said.