CHINA-MILITARY: PLAAF
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PLA Air Force (PLAAF) spokesman Colonel Shen Jinke disclosed on March 31, 2015, that the PLA held its first drill in airspace above the western Pacific Ocean on Monday, as part of its plan to boost capacity in far-seas operations. He said an unspecified number of aircraft took part in the exercise after flying over the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. The planes returned to base the same day. The statement was carried by the People's Liberation Army's news portal with several file photos of long-range bombers, identified only as "new models". While Colonel Shen Jinke said the drill was part of the air force's routine training regime and not aimed at any particular country or target, Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong said the drill was an apparent response to the United States' recent call for SouthEast Asian nations to patrol the South China Sea. He said "It's obviously a calculated move after recent moves by the US, which has built up tensions in the South China Sea. The drill by the PLA Air Force might further raise tensions, but the world will see who created the problem in the first place".
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