PLA Air Force to regularize training over First Island Chain

Several People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force aircraft, including H-6K bombers, flew over Bashi Channel toward the Western Pacific Ocean for high-sea training on Sept. 12, a spokesperson of the PLA Air Force said.

H-6K bombers, Su-30 and J-11 fighters and early-warning and aerial refueling aircraft all participated in the military drill, which aimed to advance Air Force training so as to maintain national sovereignty and guarantee peaceful development, the spokesperson said.

"This is common practice for the air forces of sea-adjacent states, and a normal requirement for China's national defense and military-building," the spokesperson explained, adding that the move is also in accordance with international law and practice.

The PLA Air Force will be organizing regular exercises that fly past the "first island chain", or the first chain of major archipelagos from the eastern continental mainland coast.