US puts record number of eyes in the skies off China coast in July

Beijing-based think tank counts 50 sorties by American military aircraft over South China Sea in first three weeks

Numerous reconnaissance flights have ventured close to Chinese airspace on southern coast

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American E-8C surveillance planes have made multiple flights close to the Chinese coast in the past week. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:00pm, 25 Jul 2020Updated: 9:49pm, 25 Jul 2020

The United States has ramped up its aerial reconnaissance of the Chinese coast and the South China Sea to record levels, according to a Beijing-based think tank.

In the past week alone, US air force E-8C surveillance planes were spotted closer than 100 nautical miles to the southeast coast of Guangdong province on four separate occasions, the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said.

On Thursday, the think tank released a scratchy audio recording of what appeared to be a warning from the Chinese navy to a US military plane to change course or be intercepted. SCSPI said the audio had been captured by a radio amateur that morning.

It remains unclear which aircraft was involved but it was said to be flying close to the southern Chinese coast, north of the Taiwan Strait. It is unknown whether any subsequent aerial encounter took place.

“At the moment the US military is sending three to five reconnaissance aircraft each day to the South China Sea,” SCSPI said. “In the first half of 2020 – with much higher frequency, closer distance and more variety of missions – the US aerial reconnaissance in the South China Sea has entered a new phase.”

US planes have ventured “unusually close” to Chinese airspace several times since April, the think tank said. The closest flight to date was in May when a US navy P-8A Poseidon – designed for anti-submarine warfare – almost reached the 12 nautical mile limit near Hainan Island, on China’s southernmost tip.

SCSPI said its statistics showed flights by US planes to about 50 to 60 nautical miles off the mainland were “frequent”. A record of 50 sorties – flying from nearby US land bases to the South China Sea – was set in the first three weeks of July, coinciding with separate Chinese and US military exercises in the area.

On peak days, SCSPI said it had counted as many as eight US aircraft, including types P-8A EP-3E, RC-135W and KC-135. One such peak occurred on July 3, as aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz, along with their respective strike groups, entered the region.