Satellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month — a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing's latest signalling of its growing military capabilities to rivals.
The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody Island in the Paracels since 2020, and the movement of the now upgraded aircraft comes amid tensions with the Philippines, operations near Taiwan and ahead of the region's biggest defense forum this weekend.
"China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing — against the Philippines and against the U.S. and other things that are going on," said Collin Koh, a defense scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
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