Chinese fighter jets patrol new air-defence zone

Beijing – Chinese fighter jets Thursday carried out patrols in the newly demarcated East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone, an official said.

Planes from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force conducted normal air patrols in the air-dence zone, reported Xinhua citing Shen Jinke, a spokesperson for the force.

Shen said that several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft carried out the patrol mission, which he described as “a defensive measure and in line with international common practices”.

According to Shen, China’s air force will remain on high alert and will take measures to deal with diverse air threats to firmly protect the security of the country’s airspace.

China last week established the Eas! t China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone, which includes the dispute! d Diaoyu islands (known in Japan as Senkaku islands).

It announced that aircraft flying in the zone must abide by these rules or “the armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions”.