[CHN] Chinese reconnaissance aircraft: Flying near the Taiwan Strait

Chinese reconnaissance aircraft: Flying near the Taiwan Strait

The conflict between mainland China and Taiwan is deepening.
Recently, Chinese reconnaissance aircraft flew near the Taiwan Strait. In this case, the Chinese military aircraft flew under a civilian airplane. “On Sept. 24, a Chinese military Y-9 reconnaissance plane hid under a Cathay Pacific flight (CX366) from Hong Kong to Shanghai and flew close to the midline of the Taiwan Strait for about 10 minutes,” Taiwanese media outlets such as Jingxinyuan and Sanli News reported. The mid-Taiwan Strait is the de facto border between China and Taiwan.

[Fig. 1] Y-9W, Y-9W (KJ-500) airborne early warning aircraft (Source from Wikipedia)

The Taiwanese media referenced the flight tracker site Flighterware. The flight path is Route M503. This route is 7.8 kilometers from the midline of the Taiwan Strait. Initially, the Y-9 reconnaissance plane flew behind the airliner. After a while, it dropped vertically below the airliner. Then, the reconnaissance plane flew underneath it.

Zhang Yenting, former deputy commander of the Taiwanese Air Force, warned.

“China could mobilize three to five military aircraft to launch a surprise attack on Taiwan using civilian aircraft as cover.”
“If Chinese military aircraft launch a Trojan Horse-style surprise attack near the Taiwan Strait, we will have very little time to react.” (South China Morning Post (SCMP), Hong Kong)

This is a deceptive tactic, similar to how the Greeks infiltrated the city of Troy in the ancient Trojan War by hiding behind giant wooden horses. When a military plane hides under a civilian airplane, it’s just a dot on the radar. From China’s point of view, it can conceal the flight of military aircraft.