A sortie of People’s Liberation Army Air Force H-6K bombers and an additional Tu-154MD intelligence aircraft cruised close to the Miyako Strait over the weekend, spurring Japan to scramble fighter planes.
Sputnik News
Date: 22.11.2017
During a previous incident when PLAAF aircraft flirted with entering Japanese airspace in July, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Tokyo “should not make a fuss about nothing” and that “it will be fine once they get used to it.”
The Miyako Strait is located between Miyako and Okinawa, both Japanese islands, and to the northeast of Taiwan, a self-governing island Beijing insists belongs to China.
© REUTERS/ KYODO
Countering Chinese Advances, Japan Scrambles Record Number of Jets
The long-range mission marked the first time PLAAF aircraft flew near Taiwan since the Chinese Party’s National Congress in Beijing, which concluded October 24, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense said November 20.
Taiwan’s military “monitored the maneuvers by Chinese military planes in accordance with regulations” and will abide by its air defense identification zone, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The Tu-154MD aircraft used by the PLAAF is a modified Russian Tu-154M. As part of the upgrades, Beijing added radar systems to the aircraft that are concealed from view and equipped the plane with antennae possessing electronic warfare capability. Reports indicate PLAAF has at least four Tu-154MDs. [FULL STORY]
