China flies nuke-capable bombers near Panatag

China’s air force has announced that it recently flew long-range, nuclear-capable aircraft over the South China Sea, including near the flash point Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, and that the patrols will become a “regular practice.”

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted military spokesman Shen Jinke as saying late Monday that the air force had sent H-6K bombers and other aircraft, including fighter jets, to patrol islands and reefs, less than a week after a UN-backed international tribunal rejected Beijing’s historic claims to much of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).