China is sending its most advanced fighter jet to patrol disputed East and South China Seas

cnn via msn ^ | 4/15/2022 | By Jessie Yeung and Brad Lendon

[RomanSoldier19]

hina has begun sending its most advanced fighter aircraft, the J-20, to patrol the East and South China Seas, Chinese state media has reported.

Early versions of the J-20 stealth jet used Russian engines -- but those have since been replaced with domestically-produced twin engines. The jets were first shown to the public with the new Chinese engines last year at Airshow China.

The deployment is intended to "better safeguard China's airspace security and maritime interests," state-run tabloid Global Times reported on Wednesday, citing military experts.

Ren Yukun, a spokesperson for the J-20's state-run manufacturer, added that it was a "training routine" for the J-20 to begin conducting patrols now that it's equipped with Chinese engines, according to Global Times.

The announcement comes just weeks after United States Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the commander of US Pacific Air Forces, said US F-35s and Chinese J-20s came into close proximity with each other over the East China Sea.

The East China Sea and South China Sea have both long been contested regions, with overlapping territorial claims by numerous countries.

[RomanSoldier19]

[Track9]

If those engines are anything like their food, they’re going to need a lot of refueling.

[HYPOCRACY]

The country that never won a war in 5,000 years is now the world’s biggest bully. So sick of hearing about these assholes. Can’t wait to gtf out of Asia.

[Renfrew]

In theory the J-20 is better than anything Russia is flying in its war.

Ukraine has shown that how an army performs in reality is very different than how it looks on paper. It is a mystery just how capable the Chinese forces are.

[noiseman]

India was able to spot the J-20 easily with conventional airborne radar, so not much of a stealth aircraft. Plus, if it contains as many counterfeit parts as a lot of the junk they send us, I’d be careful about pulling too many Gs in one.

[DUMBGRUNT]

And Taiwan was not named in this article?

“The hand you cannot bite, you must kiss”

[DownInFlames]

Destroy the man made islands and the fighters are paperweights.

[Track9]

I doubt it’s a mystery to those who need to know. At least I hope that’s the case. Seeing what’s important to our leadership these days, who knows.

[Rockingham]

A big, poorly led army will beat small opponents organized along similar lines. But how will they do against a small but determined and better organized opponent with good weapons? Or against a peer adversary? Or in a long war for existential stakes?

Modern China is untested so far, but as Putin has been reminded, autocratic regimes tend to do poorly against democracies. Even the militaristic and battle hardened Germans were no exception: they won many battles but could not win the two world wars they provoked. Big but corrupt and riddled with internal divisions, with no modern military experience, China is full of arrogance but has no reason for confidence.