https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c...-sea-bwwxhd5qh
China deploys anti-ship bombers in South China Sea
China has debuted two anti-ship jet bombers in “high-intensity” military drills in the disputed South China Sea, in an apparent show of force against the US and its Asian neighbours.
It was the first time the
Chinese military officially revealed the H-6J bomber, a variant of a Soviet Tupelov attack bomber that can carry cruise missiles. The bombers, which are believed to have been in service for several years, were used to strike “surface targets” during round-the-clock exercises, the Chinese military said.
Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for the defence ministry, said that the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command navy-aviation force had carried out “high-intensity, all-day training over the South China Sea involving new types of warplanes such as H-6G and H-6J”. “It completed exercises [including] long-distance strike and attacks on water surface targets,” he said. “It achieved expected results.”.....
“We demand the US to stop making wrong speeches, to stop its military provocative acts in the South China Sea, and to stop sowing discord in the region,” Senior Colonel Ren said, promising that Beijing would only be more resolved in the face of US provocations.
Wang Ya’nan, a Chinese aviation industry expert and chief editor of
Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the state-run
Global Times that Beijing, by revealing the bombers’ exercises in detail, sought to demonstrate its capabilities. Mr Wang added that Beijing was showing restraint by not carrying out the drills at the same time as the US aircraft carrier exercises.
Meanwhile,
Japan today took a step closer to buying long-range munitions and adopting a “pre-emptive” strike doctrine against future enemies, after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party published proposals to be considered by Shinzo Abe, the prime minister.
“Our country needs to consider ways to strengthen deterrence, including having the capability to halt ballistic missile attacks within the territory of our adversaries,” the plan produced by the defence committee said.
The document would alter Japan’s stance as a pacifist nation, whose constitution prohibits the right to wage war. It is also likely to anger China and Russia, which could fall within range of any new strike weapons......
Mr Abe has pushed for a more muscular military, arguing Japan needs to respond to a deteriorating security environment in east Asia as North Korea builds missiles and nuclear weapons, China builds a modern, powerful military and Russian forces re-engage in the region.