MANILA, Philippines — China's People's Liberation Army Air Force has landed an H-6K bomber on Woody Island, its largest airbase in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
Chinese state-owned People's Daily posted a video on Twitter last Friday showing the long-range bomber landing and taking off from the island.
The combat radius of the H-6K can reach 1,000 nautical miles, meaning bombers taking off from Woody Island could cover the entire South China Sea, think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said.
The Washington-based think tank warned that nearly the whole Philippines falls within the radius of the bombers.
The Philippines, however, insisted that it is closely monitoring the developments in the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea.
"We are taking the appropriate diplomatic action necessary to protect our claims and will continue to do so in the future," the Department of Foreign Affairs said.