Malaysian air force scrambles hawk jets just after Chinese armed service planes detected in close proximity to its national airspace

The Malaysian air force said on Tuesday (Jun 1) that it scrambled its jets to conduct a visual confirmation, after Chinese military transport planes were detected heading towards its national airspace and threatened the country’s sovereignty. 

In a statement, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) said it discovered 16 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) planes making suspicious flights in Malaysia’s maritime zone air space, the Kota Kinabalu Flight Information Region (FIR) and approaching the Malaysian national airspace on May 31. 

The planes were discovered by the RMAF’s defence radar in Sarawak at 11.53am, said the statement. 

In addition, it said that the planes flew in an in-trail tactical formation 60 nautical miles from one another. 

“The planes flew in that formation using the same point of entry and exit. The planes then changed (direction), heading to the Beting Patinggi Ali weather space which is important to the country.” 

The PLAAF planes then flew via Singapore FIR before entering the Malaysia maritime zone air space and the Kota Kinabalu FIR, the RMAF statement said, adding that the Chinese planes approached within 60 nautical miles of  Sarawak beach, “threatening Malaysia’s sovereignty”. 

The RMAF then put its Hawk 208 jets from No 6 squadron on high alert, said the statement.  

“The PLAAF planes were put under continued radar surveillance and were instructed to contact controllers in the Kota Kinabalu FIR. When these guidance weren't heeded and the PLAAF planes crossed Kota Kinabalu FIR and headed towards the national airspace, the Malaysia Oxygen Drive scrambled intercepting jets at 1.33pm to perform a visual identification.” 

“Due to the air interception completed, the RMAF has determined the aircraft as Ilyushin Il-76 and Xian Y-20 aircraft. These kinds of aircraft happen to be strategic transfer aircraft and with the capacity of performing different missions. This incident is a serious matter that threatens countrywide sovereignty and aviation safe practices, predicated on the density of air flow traffic in the airline routes in Kota Kinabalu FIR”. 

“This incident was handled by the Malaysian Air Force predicated on protocols by the ICAO and our national air defence strategy. The foreign ministry has taken note of this through the defence ministry,” the statement added. 

"ROUTINE FLIGHT TRAINING"

The Chinese embassy in Malaysia said on Tuesday the planes were conducting routine flight training.

"As far as I know, the reported actions are routine flight training of the Chinese Atmosphere Force , nor target any country," said a spokesperson.

"Chinese military aircraft enjoy the freedom of overflight found in the relevant airspace. 

"During this training, the Chinese army aircraft strictly abided by the relevant international rules and didn't enter the territorial airspace of any different country."

The spokesperson said that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbours, and that China is ready to continue bilateral friendly consultations with Malaysia to jointly maintain regional peace and stability.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the ministry will concern a "take note of diplomatic protest" and will ask China's ambassador to Malaysia to explain the "breach of the Malaysian airspace and sovereignty".

"Malaysia's stand is clear - having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries will not imply that we will compromise on our nationwide protection," Mr Hishammuddin said in a statement.

China claims a lot of the South China Ocean, but there are also overlapping statements by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. 

Washington and its allies also have challenged Beijing’s territorial statements. 

In April this past year, Mr Hishammuddin called for calm in the Southern China Ocean and reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to peace in the disputed waters. 

This came after reports a Chinese government survey ship was "tagging" an exploration vessel managed by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas in the South China Ocean. 

CNA has contacted the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore for responses.