CHINA has reportedly flown combat jets with live weapons over the South China Sea amid a threatening response to last week’s challenge by a United States destroyer.
Photographs released by the People’s Liberation Army show home-built J-11 fighter jets armed with missiles conducting training exercises from a South China Sea airstrip as one of its admirals threatened the US against continuing to challenge China’s sovereignty claims.
If the United States continues with these kinds of dangerous, provocative acts, there could well be a seriously pressing situation between frontline forces from both sides on the sea and in the air, or even a minor incident that sparks war,” Admiral Wu Shengli said in a statement.
The South China Morning Post identifies the island as Woody (Yongxing) Island — part of the Parcels island chain between China and Vietnam. Both nations claim the islands as their territory.
The twin-engined Shenyang J-11 is a variation of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. It is capable of carrying cannons, bombs, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.
Woody Island is some 600km north of Subi Reef, where the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen last week deliberately sailed within 22km of one of a chain of artificial islands China is building up as military bases.
It’s also about 600km south of Zhanjiang, the home of China’s southern fleet and where the Australian frigates HMAS Stuart and HMAS Arunta are conducting joint anti-piracy training.
The 22km (12 nautical mile) territorial claim the internationally accepted extent of national boundaries over the ocean. However, the UN law of the sea does not recognise artificial islands or structures as a valid extension of a nation’s land mass.
The two Australian frigates will traverse the disputed South China Sea as they return to Australia via Malaysia and Indonesia.
China claims 85 per cent of the South China Sea — including almost every reef, shoal and island — despite their proximity to nations such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
No comments:
Post a Comment