PLA air force vows to continue training and patrols over East and South China seas

The mainland Chinese air force said on Thursday it would continue training and patrols in the air space over the East and South China seas, following recently intensified drills that have rattled Taiwan and Japan.

The People’s Liberation Army air force would keep training and patrolling the air space in accordance with its schedule, spokesman Shen Jinke said.

In a statement posted on the PLA air force microblog, Shen said his remark was in response to recent reports from Taiwan and overseas media about the mainland’s H-6K nuclear bombers flying over waterways near Taiwan and through the Bashi Channel and Japan’s Miyako Strait.

Such flights have became more frequent since a telephone call between Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and US president-elect Donald Trump on December 2, which broke a norm since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.

Shen said such flights are “regular and legal training and patrol missions” to defend China’s sovereignty in the region.

“The drill and patrol missions in the East and South China seas are regular, legitimate and responsible military activities that reflect the Chinese air force’s mission and duties in the region,” Shen was quoted as saying, adding that the air force would continue conducting similar flights according to its established plans.

He said the PLA air force is a strategic troop, so its training goal should meet national interests.

“Actual combat training will enhance the air force’s ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as defend China’s space and sky security and development interests,” he said.

Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan to be a renegade province and wants it to be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.