(Eagle News) — Chinese jet fighters have been sent to the South China Sea, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force said on Wednesday.
Su-35 Russia-made advanced fighters were dispatched to the sea for joint combat cruise missions, the official Sina Weibo account of the PLA Air Force said, according to a report published in the Global Times.
Global Times is an English-language publication that is under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily.
The Su-35 can attack targets on the ground and the sea.
“The appearance of advanced PLA fighter jets, capable of attacking surface combat vessels in this region is sort of a reaction to the provocation by the US,” Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, was quoted as saying in the Global Times.
He said if the jets land on a South China Sea island, that could serve as a “deterrent to any outside forces trying to disturb the regional stability,” the Global Times report said.
In February, news reports said that the U.S. Navy carrier battle group centered on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was now moving through the South China Sea.
At least one of the three attack submarines, the USS Alexandria, USS Chicago and USS Louisville, have also entered the disputed area.
Several Asian countries, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, among others, have claims in the South China Sea.