Two US military aircraft reportedly flew close to the nation’s southern airspace yesterday, one day after the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft carrier battle group sailed east of the country.
A US RC-135W Rivet Joint and a Lockheed P-3 Orion were operating in the South China Sea, according to flight charts posted on Twitter yesterday morning by Aircraft Spots, a military air movement tracker.
Based on the Twitter posts, the two planes flew at different intervals, with the RC-135W reconnaissance plane spotted first over the Bashi Channel, southwest of Taiwan.
Ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) did not directly confirm the aircraft sightings, except to say the military is closely monitoring the nation’s surrounding waters and airspace.
According to charts released by Aircraft Spots and the ministry’s own records, the latest incident was the 10th time US aircraft have operated near the nation’s airspace since March 25.
The ministry on Sunday evening said that a PLAN aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, escorted by two destroyers, two frigates and a supply ship, were monitored as they passed through the Miyako Strait to the northeast of Taiwan on Saturday, headed south.
The flotilla passed to the east of Taiwan on Sunday as it moved southward on a long-range training mission, the ministry said, adding that no unusual activities were detected.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst at the Taipei-based Institute of National Defense and Security Research, on Sunday said that Beijing has expanded its maritime and air presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is probably the main reason US reconnaissance planes have recently been spotted operating near the Bashi Channel, to monitor the movements of the People’s Liberation Army in the area,” Su said.
Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) on Sunday said the public has no need to worry about the nation’s safety and security.
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