China has started sending it its most advanced fighter aircraft, the J-20for patrolling the Eastern and Southern China Seas, Chinese state media reported.
Early versions of the J-20 stealth jet used Russian engines – but they have since been replaced by domestically produced twin engines. The jets were first introduced to the public with the new Chinese engines last year at the Airshow China.
Their deployment at the site is aimed at “better protecting China’s airspace security and maritime interests,” the state-run tabloid Global Times reported on Wednesday. citing military experts.
THE Ren Yukon, representative of the state-owned manufacturer of the J-20he added, was a “training routine” for the J-20 to begin patrolling now equipped with Chinese engines, according to the Global Times.
The announcement comes just weeks after the US General Kenneth Wilsbach, Commander of the US Air Force in the Pacificsaid the US F-35s and Chinese J-20s came in close proximity to each other over the East China Sea.
The East China Sea and the South China Sea are both long-disputed areas, with overlapping territorial claims from many countries.
China claims almost the entire vast South China Sea as its sovereign territory. It is building and militarizing its facilities there, turning islands into military bases and airstrips, and reportedly setting up a naval militia that could number hundreds of boats.
Meanwhile, in the East China Sea, China is claiming sovereignty over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, also known as the Diaoyu Islands. In recent years, the United States has reiterated its commitment to defending the Japanese islands in the event of a foreign attack.
Experts say that the development of the J-20 shows two things: China’s growing confidence in its military capabilities and its warning to other countries involved in the territorial dispute.
CNN
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