US Air Force on surveillance missions in South China Sea, Beijing think tank says
- Anti-submarine, reconnaissance and transport aircraft all engaged in manoeuvres, South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative says
- Actions of US military in recent weeks has pushed PLA to increase its own activity in region, it says
“On the morning of June 25, US P-8A and RC-135 are conducting reconnaissance in the #SouthChinaSea, staying focused on the waters east of #Bashi Channel, meanwhile, a C-17A Globemaster III is flying over the SouthChinaSea,” it said in tweet accompanied by an image of the aircrafts’ supposed movements.
The P8-A Poseidon, which is designed for anti-submarine warfare, RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and C-17A transport plane were among at least a dozen US warplanes that had been sighted in the region since mid-June, it said.
According to the illustration shown on Twitter, the P8-A flew through the Bashi Channel towards the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands – a group of three atolls in the northern reaches of the South China Sea that are known by Beijing as the Dongsha Islands – before flying close to the southeast coast of the Chinese mainland.
Pratas Island, the largest of the three atolls, lies midway between China’s military base on its island province of Hainan and the Pacific Ocean, and therefore has great strategic significance.