Two U.S. long-range bombers entered the East China Sea on Wednesday, the same day that the Chinese Air Force launched five military aircraft to harass Taiwan’s airspace, according to various sources.
Two U.S. Air Force supersonic heavy bombers, the B-1Bs (MAZER01 and MAZER02), entered the Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea on Wednesday, in a clear show of force, Newsweek reported Wednesday (Nov. 18). The two aircraft took off from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam and entered the East China Sea from northeastern Taiwan.
The two long-range bombers also carried two KC-135 aerial refueling tankers and conducted refueling operations in the Philippine Sea, the report said.
VOA received confirmation from the Pentagon that U.S. military aircraft were indeed operating in the area, but they were flying in international airspace and did not enter Chinese airspace.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) issued a warning to the U.S. planes and launched two fighter jets to intercept them, Newsweek said. A video posted on Chinese social media microblogs shows these actions, the report said.
The minute-long video features a conversation between a Chinese air force pilot and a U.S. bomber crew, and the Chinese pilot can be heard saying “please leave immediately.
In the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported on Wednesday that the Chinese Air Force sent fighter jets into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in airspace southwest of Taiwan that day. The two Y-8s flew briefly in Taiwan’s airspace, then turned around and left after the Taiwanese jets lifted off.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has had a section on its website since November documenting PLA incursions into Taiwan’s airspace.
Three other planes of the same type, including an electronic warfare plane, entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.
Analysts in Taiwan say the U.S. Air Force’s entry into China’s air defense identification zone with a special reconnaissance aircraft, a heavy bomber, is of special significance and may be aimed at preventing China from taking advantage of the uncertainty created by the U.S. election.
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