South China Sea Brief: March 21, 2022

1. Did China deploy fighter jets to the Spratly Islands?

Today's biggest story is an AP's exclusive report, onboard a P-8A patrol aircraft that flew near Chinese-held outposts in the Spratly Islands yesterday.

The report indicates that China has deployed fighter jets to the Spratly Islands, a significant escalation if true.

OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (AP) — China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.

But I did not see a direct quote from Adm. John C. Aquilino on this important detail.

My regional sources cannot confirm this development. We have to wait for further clarification from Indo-Pacific Command.

2. China’s exercises

The Hainan Maritime Safety Agency on March 19 continued to issue a navigational warning about a military exercise outside the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin.

This exercise lasts more than 20 days, from March 19 to April 9. The area remains the same as the exercise from March 4 to March 15.

One of China's purposes when conducting drills in this area is to search for the Y-8 plane that crashed on March 1.

The extended exercise shows that the SAR operation is not over yet. Currently, the research ships Tan Suo 1, Tan Suo 2, and Haiyang Dizhi 6 are still hovering in this area.

Interestingly, ship tracking data shows that the U.S. Navy research ship USNS Bowditch operates near the exercise area.

Although China has not commented on the Y-8 crash so far, Chinese social media have reported the funerals of at least two pilots in recent days. One of the pilots, Zhou Xingyu was said to have died on March 1.

3. Aircraft carriers

Today, some carrier-borne transport aircraft CMV-22Bs arrived at the Philippines's Clark airbase, suggesting the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is about to enter the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier was spotted conducting training in the Bohai Sea on March 20.

Another one, the Shandong, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on March 18, heading north.

Duan