1 November 2015, 14:47 GMT
On Saturday, the People's Liberation Army Navy posted several photos of two Shenyang J-11 air superiority fighters on its website. Two of the released images show the aircraft in the skies above the South China Sea. The rest display the J-11's take-off and landing.
The PLA Navy reported that the drills took place on October 30.
Three days earlier, the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of one of Beijing's man-made islands in the contested Spratly archipelago despite repeated warnings from China that such overt action would be taken as a deliberate provocation in an already strained relationship between the two countries.
A J-11 fighter taxis on the runway after returning from a flight training on Oct. 30, 2015. An aviation division under the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese PLA Navy carried out on Friday training on real air battle tactics.
A J-11 fighter flies above the South China Sea on Oct. 30, 2015. An aviation division under the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese PLA Navy carried out on Friday training on real air battle tactics.
A J-11 fighter taxis on the runway after returning from a flight training on Oct. 30, 2015. An aviation division under the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese PLA Navy carried out on Friday training on real air battle tactics.
A J-11 fighter flies above the South China Sea on Oct. 30, 2015. An aviation division under the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese PLA Navy carried out on Friday training on real air battle tactics.
"It's a signal China sent to the US that it is serious about its claims. This is the minimum level of response China should have, or it will fail the expectation of its people," the newspaper quoted Xu Guangyu, a retired Chinese general, as saying.
Crossing The Line?
© Sputnik / Vitaly Podvitski
