China's Unmanned Military Aircraft Tracked Near Vietnam Beach

Haiphong Vietnam/ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH

JAKARTA - China's unmanned military aircraft flew with active tracers near the Vietnamese coast last week.

This was conveyed by the South China Sea research agency to Reuters, Monday, August 5.

Flights on Friday last week on a WZ-10 plane departed from Hainan Island and returned there after a path of about 100 km (62 miles) from the Vietnamese coastline to the southern city of Nha Trang, according to a track map seen by Reuters and shared by Van Pham, South China Sea Electronic Initiative general manager.

It is unclear whether other similar flights have been carried out before with the tracker turned off.

The deadly practices of tracers are often carried out by Chinese ships in the economic zone of neighboring countries.

Pham said another researcher, who has long monitored the South China Sea, confirmed that this incident was the first time such flights had been seen by the Chinese side.

Reuters was unable to independently verify similar flight records in the past.

The flight comes days after Hanoi announced it would hold its first joint coast guard exercise with the Philippines, which will begin on August 9, following Vietnam's filing of claims to the United Nations last month to expand its continental shelf in the South China Sea.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense has not responded to a request for a response, as has the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinese ships often enter Vietnam's EEZ and when the runway is activated, their maneuvers are tracked and sometimes criticized by Hanoi, as well as other prosecution countries in the South China Sea, almost all of which Beijing claims as its sovereignty.

The two communist-controlled neighboring countries have strong economic ties and close political ties, but often clash over borders in the South China Sea, important shipping routes, and frequent clashes involving coast guard ships.