Beijing has staged a rare high-profile display of its bombers during drills near Taiwan – a clear signal to potential external parties – ahead of an expected summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in South Korea this week.
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Several H-6K bombers – one of the most advanced variants of the People’s Liberation Army’s H-6 family – recently carried out simulated confrontation drills over air and sea areas surrounding Taiwan, according to a programme broadcast by state-run broadcaster CCTV on Sunday.
The training was conducted by the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees operations around Taiwan and the East China Sea, and aimed to test abilities in reconnaissance and early warning operations, air blockades and precision strikes, the report said.
Trump downplays Taiwan dispute in China talks
Trump downplays Taiwan dispute in China talks
“From above the clouds, Taiwan’s coastline is clearly visible,” Yao Miling of the mainland command’s air force was quoted as saying in the report while pledging to “defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through our actions”.
The footage then showed the bombers dropping missiles on ground targets.
While the H-6K bombers had previously been deployed around the island, a public display of several H-6s conducting drills near the island is rare and has drawn attention from Taipei.
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On Friday, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported detecting eight sorties by PLA bombers operating to the island’s southwest on Thursday – the highest number the island has detected from a single direction in the past three months. It is not clear whether the “recent” bomber drills aired by CCTV are related to those sorties.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Monday that the CCTV report was “clearly a public opinion operation aimed at intimidation”. It called on citizens to remain united in the face of such “cognitive operations”.