Dozens of warplanes have been sent to the West Pacific Ocean and China's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for marine drills and regular patrols, a Chinese Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force official said on Sunday.
Air Force spokesperson Shen Jinke said the Chinese Air Force Sunday sent over 40 warplanes through the Mayako Strait for combat drills in the West Pacific, and fighters and bombers are regularly patrolling the country's ADIZ over the East China Sea, according to PLA Air Force's official Sina Weibo account.
"The regular West Pacific drills and ADIZ patrols are necessary to safeguard national sovereignty, the country's security and maintain peaceful development," Shen said.
The drills included surveillance, assault, and air refueling to test the air force's capabilities, according to Shen.
Aircraft like H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters and tankers will regularly be flying over the Miyako Strait, an international waterway between Japan's Miyako Island and Okinawa Island.
The Chinese Air Force conducted its first flight over the strait in May 2015, reports said.
Shen said at a press conference on Thursday that the air force will "regularize" offshore drills beyond the First Island Chain. Since March 2015, PLA aircraft have flown beyond the chain five times to drill in the western Pacific Ocean.
He also said that aerial patrols in the South China Sea have become a "regular" practice to improve their combat readiness.
