CHINA has tested out Russian-made fighter jets over the disputed South China Sea.
The South China Morning Post reported the exercises included a three aircraft attack on a seaborne target. Beijing possesses 24 SU-35s that are used by a brigade based near Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province, that is nicknamed “Sword of the South”. A Chinese pilot Song Lindong is reported to have said: “The modifications emphasised the part the (Su-35’s weapons) platform played in realising combat tactics, (taking personnel) closer to the situation of a real battlefield.
“The aerial combat is more intense with a heavier payload.”
The brigade is believed to have patrolled parts of the region including one around Taiwanese airspace.
SU-35 is considered a major part of Russian weaponry.
China was the first to order the planes, which are noted for manoeuvrability from Moscow and can carry anti-ship missiles from Moscow.
The deal for the 24 planes is believed to have cost $2.5billion (£2billion).
An early Soviet edition of the plan had its airframe used in the development of Beijing’s Shenyang J-11 fighter.
The disputed seas see one-third of international trade and $3trillion (£2.4trillion) of international trade pass through annually.
Beijing has the largest claim to the region and has built artificial islands in what it regards as its territory in the sea.
Beijing and Taipei dispute the waters northeast of Natuna Islands with Indonesia, Scarborough Shoal with The Philippines, parts of the Spratly Islands with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and The Philippines as well as the Paracel Islands with Vietnam.
China actually fought a short conflict in 1974 with South Vietnam to establish control over the Paracels.
Beijing lost 18 men and Saigon (the name of South Vietnam’s capital at the time, now Ho Chi Minh City) lost 53 in the two-day engagement.