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South China Sea: US Air Force ‘heads out again on search for Chinese submarines’
- Taiwanese security source says American forces may have been responding to intelligence about the PLA Navy
- Waters in the area may become the focus of more military attention, analyst says
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The US Air Force sent military planes to the Bashi Channel en route to the South China Sea for a sixth day in a row on Friday in what observers said was a mission to track mainland Chinese submarines.
The South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a mainland Chinese think tank under Peking University, said three American warplanes – a EP-3 reconnaissance plane, a P-8A anti-submarine aircraft and a KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft – appeared in the Bashi Channel between 10am and noon.
In charts posted online, the think tank said the three planes flew briefly into the southwestern part of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone towards the Bashi Channel and then headed to the South China Sea.
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“US EP-3E (AE1D91) is reconnoitring in the #SouthChinaSea, June 26. A P-8A and a KC-135 are following up, June 26,” the think tank said in a tweet.
00:56
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US says China behaving aggressively in South China Sea amid coronavirus ‘disinformation campaign’
Taiwan’s defence ministry declined to comment on the US military movements, saying only that it was fully aware of foreign military activities around Taiwan and that the armed forces were doing their job to ensure the security of the island and the safety of the Taiwanese public.
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