Gertz: China begins military flights from disputed South China Sea bases

China’s military recently deployed electronic warning and surveillance aircraft and helicopters on two disputed islands in the South China Sea in what analysts say is a sign that the People’s Liberation Army has begun routine air operations from the bases.

Satellite images obtained by The Washington Times show deployments in May and June of PLA KJ-500 airborne warning and control aircraft to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands. Other satellite photos showed the stationing of a Y-9 transport aircraft and Z-8 helicopter to Subi Reef in June and this month.

Last year, KQ-200 anti-submarine warfare aircraft were deployed on a third island base on Fiery Cross Reef.

In the past, military aircraft made occasional stops at bases built since 2013 as part of a major campaign by the Chinese military to expand power and protect its broad claims to sovereignty over the strategic waterway.

The two reefs are part of a triangle of South China Sea military bases that China equipped with advanced missiles in 2018 — contrary to what U.S. officials said was a pledge by President Xi Jinping not to militarize the islands, which are claimed by China and several other regional states.

The bases can house all types of warplanes and bombers and contain docking facilities capable of handling most Chinese warships.

Satellite imagery of the military aircraft was obtained by J. Michael Dahm, a former Navy intelligence officer currently with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, known as APL.

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10253 Shaanxi Y-9 PLAAF Zhuhai 12.11.18 by Colin Cooke Photo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0