A senior Chinese military official said Monday in Singapore that the Chinese Air Force is capable of defending the country's airspace in maintaining state sovereignty, the China Radio International reported.

Lieutenant General Liu Shunyao, commander of the Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, made the remark at the "Millennium Air Power Conference" hosted by Singapore and attended by more than 500 air force delegates from 36 countries and regions.

General Liu briefed the conference on China's defense policy and national military strategy.

He noted that the PLA Air Force is shifting from national air defense toward defense plus offense in order to better implement the national military strategy of active defense.