Chinese video shows fighter jets tracking foreign warplanes in South China Sea

J-11 Flankers seen taking off from Woody Island for Sunday’s mission in footage aired on state television, but report did not identify target

US Indo-Pacific Command last month accused PLA pilots of conducting ‘unsafe manoeuvres’ near American plane in the disputed waterway

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The Chinese fighter jets were seen taking off from Woody Island on Sunday in a video aired on state television. Photo: CCTV

Published: 5:00pm, 25 Jan 2023Updated: 9:08pm, 25 Jan 2023

China has released footage of PLA Navy fighter jets carrying out surveillance of foreign warplanes at one of its South China Sea outposts on Sunday.

It comes after the US Indo-Pacific Command last month accused Chinese fighter jet pilots of conducting “unsafe manoeuvres” near a US plane over the contested waterway.

The Chinese video, aired by state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday, shows two J-11 Flanker fighter jets – each carrying four air-to-air missiles – taking off from Woody Island to monitor foreign warplanes that had entered the nearby area.

PLA pilot Zhang Lei is stationed on Woody Island in the South China Sea. Photo: CCTV

Woody Island – known as Yongxing in Chinese – is the location of China’s main military base in the disputed Paracels, and the administrative capital of three island chains claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.

Zhang Lei, one of the pilots in the video who is stationed on Woody Island, said they had to be more vigilant during festive periods like the Lunar New Year when it was more likely that foreign military planes would try to enter Chinese airspace.

“That means carrying out more tracking, monitoring, surveillance and patrols with more frequent take-offs,” Zhang said.

According to the CCTV report, the pilots involved in Sunday’s mission made “several significant manoeuvres” to ensure their target was within the surveillance range. The report did not identify the target or where the encounter took place.