PLA's J-20 Fighter Jets 'Drive Away' Foreign Warplanes from South China Sea: Chinese Media

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force’s J-20 stealth jets reportedly drove away foreign aircraft flying close to China’s territorial airspace.

Pilots attached to the Wang Hai Air Group recently conducted combat patrols involving J-20s in China's East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday. During the mission, the J-20s apparently drove away foreign aircraft approaching Chinese airspace, as a pilot sent warnings via radio communications "This is the Chinese Air Force. You have approached Chinese airspace, leave immediately!"

China established its East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone in November 2013. Over the past 10 years, the J-20 has flown in the East China Sea, South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits.

The mass production and wide deployment of the J-20 will enable the PLA Air Force to better safeguard China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

Foreign warplanes and warships, particularly those from the U.S., have been conducting frequent close-in reconnaissance operations and provocative military exercises on China's doorsteps, and by deploying the advanced J-20s in combat patrol missions, the PLA Air Force not only will effectively identify, track and monitor those potential threats, but also pose a powerful deterrent and drive them away when necessary, the expert said.