China delivered FK-3 missile system to Serbian military, state media says
- PLA Air Force reportedly sent three anti-aircraft systems in a dozen covert sorties to Russian ally Serbia at the weekend
- ‘Regular military resources’ were transported and it was not related to the ‘present state of affairs’, according to Beijing
China’s air force flew 12 covert sorties to Serbia at the weekend, which state media said delivered three Chinese anti-aircraft missile systems in the biggest overseas airlift involving its Y-20 transport planes.
Six Y-20As headed westward towards Serbia on Saturday with a stop at Baku in Azerbaijan before crossing the airspace of Nato members Turkey and Bulgaria, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
They were reportedly delivering the new FK-3 medium-range missile system to the Serbian military. Another group of six planes followed a similar path on Sunday.
The airlift has renewed concerns in the Balkans about the military build-up of Serbia, which is widely considered a close ally of Russia, and about Chinese military presence in the region often called “Europe’s backyard”.
“China in recent days sent air force transport aircraft to Serbia to deliver regular military resources,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Monday, without confirming or denying whether that included the FK-3 systems.