China's covert flight maneuvers near Taiwan: Warplane shadowing civilian aircraft raises concerns
- In Reports
- 07:00 PM, Sep 30, 2023
- Myind Staff
Concerns have been raised in Taiwan due to recent media reports suggesting that Chinese forces might be practicing moving warplanes toward the island while concealing their actions under the guise of civilian carriers. These reports rely on images depicting unconventional flight patterns observed in Chinese regions that are oriented toward Taiwan.
These images are believed to have been sourced from real-time aircraft tracking map websites, including FlightAware in the United States and Flightradar 24, a Sweden-based service.
Analysts studying the tracking maps noted that a Y-9 electronic warfare plane appeared to be flying beneath Cathay Pacific flight CX366, which was en route from Hong Kong to Shanghai on September 24.
In response to these reports, Taiwan's defense ministry emphasized that its forces were closely monitoring the situation using intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems but refrained from commenting on whether China was employing a "Trojan horse" tactic.
The "Trojan horse" flight, as described in online reports, involved the Y-9 aircraft briefly trailing Flight CX366 along the M503 route. It then executed a maneuver descending directly below the civilian aircraft essentially adopting a vertical position. This occurred just a few kilometers from the de facto median line in the Taiwan Strait. Images show that the military transport aircraft disappeared from real-time tracking for about 10 minutes before reappearing after the passenger plane altered its course northward toward Shanghai Pudong Airport.
Retired Taiwanese Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Yen-ting characterized this maneuver as akin to a "Trojan horse" tactic, which would present as a faint radar blip and is relatively detectable. Chang explained that passenger aircraft are equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system designed to warn pilots of the presence of other planes in close proximity, including vertical positions.
The M503 route, which comes as close as 7.8 kilometers (4.8 miles) to the median line travels from south to north. Beijing initiated this route in 2018 with the approval of the International Civil Aviation Organization, despite Taiwan's repeated objections citing its proximity to the island's flight information region.
Image source: Times of India
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