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Operasi Curiga Spotted China’s Ilyushin 11-76 And Xian Y-20 Aircrafts In Malaysian Airspace

Operasi Curiga Spotted China’s Ilyushin 11-76 And Xian Y-20 Aircrafts In Malaysian Airspace

RMAF reported that there were 16 aircrafts and the Foreign Affairs Ministry is not happy about it

Please refer to MKN’s official site for more details.


[UPDATE: According to reports, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia claimed that the military aircrafts were conducting a normal flight exercise.

A spokesman for the embassy said that all 16 Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft were not directly targeting any country and added that there is nothing suspicious about it because Malaysia and China are like friendly neighbors.]

The Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement that they will issue a diplomatic protest and summon the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to explain.

This was in response to a report by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) of aircrafts belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) entering Malaysian airspace.

The 16 PLAAF aircrafts were recorded entering Malaysian airspace over the Malaysian Maritime Zone (MMZ) on Monday, 31 May. They were detected using the RMAF Air Defence Radar.

According to the report from RMAF, the aircrafts flew in an in-trail tactical formation at 60 nautical miles apart. This is when an aircraft is flying directly under and behind the leader or in the slot position.

The aircrafts are said to have entered Malaysian airspace, after passing through Singapore Flight Information Region (Singapore FIR), and changed direction in Beting Patinggi Ali air space before exiting through the same point that they entered. They were flying between 23,000 to 27,000 feet at a speed of 290 knots.

When the aircrafts were detected entering the Kota Kinabalu Flight Information Region (KK FIR), RMAF launched Hawk 208 aircrafts from the No. 6 Squadron from the Labuan Air Base at 1:33 pm.

With the PLAAF aircrafts in sight, it was confirmed that they were Ilyushin 11-76 and Xian Y-20 aircrafts, strategic carriers that are capable of various types of missions.

A Xian Y-20 during an airshow in China in 2016 (Pic credit Alert5/Wikimedia)

Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement in which Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein wrote: “Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security. Malaysia remains steadfast in defending our dignity and our sovereignty”.


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