{"id":31481,"date":"2018-02-08T22:50:06","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T22:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/08\/china-sends-advanced-fighter-jets-to-south-china-sea-for-first-time\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:41:45","slug":"china-sends-advanced-fighter-jets-to-south-china-sea-for-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/china-sends-advanced-fighter-jets-to-south-china-sea-for-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"China sends advanced fighter jets to South China Sea for first time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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China sent some of its recently acquired Su-35 fighter jets to the contested South China Sea in a show of force this week.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

China has deployed advanced fighter jets<\/a> to the South China Sea for the first time on public record, Japan Times reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The People\u2019s Liberation Army Air Force announced the operation online Wednesday and released a video of Russian-built Su-35s flying over the contested waterway<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement did not indicate when the exercise took place or how many of the single-seat, twin-engine, highly maneuverable aircraft were involved. It claimed the fighter jets were conducting \u201cjoint combat patrol\u201d exercises to enhance the air force\u2019s long-range operational capability, although it was not clear what made them joint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move is thought to be a response to continued U.S. \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d operations<\/a> in the region. The South China Sea has crucial shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil, gas and other mineral deposits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China claims control of nearly all the South China Sea, and has carried out extensive land reclamation work on many of the islands and reefs it claims, equipping some with air strips and military installations, including its man-made islands<\/a> in the Spratly Island chain. But the U.S. has maintained the right of all countries to sail through or overfly what it considers to be international waters.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, China responded aggressively to a U.S. freedom of navigation operation near the Scarborough Shoal<\/a>, a territory disputed by China and the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n