The presence of Ilyushin Il-78 aerial refueling planes in the formations of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft that approached the waters off Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday suggests not only an increase in PLA activity, but also that it is likely to simulate attack missions, political observers said.
The addition of Il-78 to the regular Xian H-6 bombers, Shaanxi Y-8 electronic-warfare aircraft and Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets would extend the flight durations, allowing the Su-30s to escort the formation beyond the first island chain.
China has conducted long-distance navigation exercises since 2015, but the frequency has increased from several times a year to several times a month, with a record nine flypasts between July and August.
The exercises were halted during the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress last month, but have now resumed, with four flypasts this month.
In a departure from previous practice in which the bases of aircraft participating in long-distance drills was kept secret, PLA Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke (申進科) on Thursday said that multiple H-6 bombers took off from “an airbase in the Guanzhong area,” suggesting that personnel based in inland areas were also required for long-distance missions.
H-6 bombers are able to fly 6,000km, but Su-30s can only reach 3,000km, so the inclusion of the Ukrainian Ilyushin Il-78 can increase the flight distance of Su-30s, said Chieh Chung (揭仲), a senior assistant research fellow at the National Policy Foundation, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affliated think tank.
This suggests that the Chinese air force is developing the capacity to conduct more attack exercises, observers said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said it would be difficult for Taiwan’s early warning system to detect H-6 bombers departing from bases in inland China.
Mid-air refueling capability gives PLA Air Force flight groups the ability to reach Guam, Hawaii and other locations with major US military bases, Tsai said.
The PLA is also seeking to boost coordination between military aircraft by increasing training resources and flight hours, he said, adding that Taiwan must closely monitor the situation.
With the commission of China’s second aircraft carrier, the 001A, the PLA’s “sea-bound” strategy is to stay the same, Taiwan Thinktank consultant Tung Li-wen (董立文) said, adding that it is seeking to break through the first island chain to achieve this goal.
The incorporation of the refueling aircraft not only increases the flight distance of Su-30s, but boosts the jet fighters capacity to protect naval formations and helps integrate offensive and defensive operations in the air and at sea, Tung said.
The Ministry of National Defense said the military has measures in place to protect the nation’s security.
It said it would scramble fighter jets and warships in response to approaches by PLA aircraft.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS