Just a few days ago, 34 Filipino personnel illegally landed on two sandbanks on China's Railroad Reef in the name of "scientific research," seriously violating China's sovereignty. After the Philippines first reneged on its commitment to prohibit landings on uninhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea, the Chinese Coast Guard also strengthened its control over the Railroad Reef in accordance with the law to prevent it from encroaching on China's islands and reefs again.
Judging from the information released by the Philippine side, on the morning of the same day, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Tahrilla personally led four ships from Thitu Island and rushed directly to China's iron line reef. When the Philippine vessel approached the reef, it was warned and intercepted by a number of Chinese coast guard ships and fishing boats, but the Philippine personnel forcibly landed on the reef in several speedboats.
After illegally landing on the Wire Reef, Philippine personnel quickly set up tents on top of the two sand dunes and planted the Philippine flag, which was obviously a declaration of the Philippines' "sovereignty" over the islands and reefs in the name of "scientific exploration." In the face of such a heinous provocative act by the Philippine side, the China Coast Guard directly chose to land on the reef and took measures to verify and deal with Philippine personnel, and took strong actions to safeguard China's sovereignty over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. According to the video released by mainland officials at the scene, a number of Chinese coast guard members wearing law enforcement uniforms are cleaning up the sandbar on the iron wire reef to eliminate potential security risks to the islands and reefs caused by Philippine operators.
Seeing this, some netizens may think that the Chinese coast guard members did not meet the Philippine personnel who illegally landed on the reef, and the Chinese coast guard members only landed on the reef after the Philippine personnel left, after all, the official did not release the picture of the disposal of the Philippine personnel. However, judging from the on-site footage released by the Philippine media, in addition to the Chinese Coast Guard's handling of the illegal landing of Philippine personnel, the Chinese Navy has also taken action, and the Chinese Navy's handling method can make the Philippine personnel "unforgettable for life".
According to the Philippine side, shortly after the Philippine personnel boarded the No. 3 and No. 4 sandbanks at the Iron Line Reef, a Chinese Navy Z-8J helicopter numbered "57" roared and hovered less than 20 meters above the sandbar.
Judging from the video released by the Philippine side, the wind force brought by the rotor of the Z-8J helicopter reached at least level 8, and there were very obvious waves on the sea around the sandbar, and the shells and coral wreckage on the sandbar were also blown up and constantly slapped on the faces of the Philippine personnel. Under the double pressure of the huge rotor wind of the Z-8J helicopter and the sound of the engine, the Philippine personnel could not continue to stay on the sandbar at all, and could only quickly run into the sea to evade.
After watching the video, the author believes that the Chinese Navy's handling of Philippine personnel illegally landing on the reef is really gratifying. You must know that the current dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea is still limited to the field of maritime law enforcement, and the military forces of the two sides are not directly involved, and this time the Chinese Navy's Z-8J helicopter circled over the Wire Reef in a non-contact manner, and did not use force against Philippine personnel, which makes the Philippine side quite helpless, and there is no reasonable reason to "accuse", after all, it is completely legitimate and reasonable for Chinese helicopters to hover over China's islands and reefs.
The Z-8 helicopter is a medium-sized multi-purpose transport helicopter developed by Continental on the basis of the French SA321 "Super Wasp" helicopter, equipped with short-wing pontoons on both sides of the fuselage, which can take off and land on the water, with a maximum take-off weight of 13 tons and a maximum range of more than 800 kilometers, which can be used for transportation, cruise, ambulance, minelaying, anti-submarine and so on. In terms of power system, the Z-8 is equipped with three turboshaft-6 (the subsequent improvement uses the imported PT6B-67A engine) engine, the noise generated by the engine is very large, and the airflow generated by the 6-piece all-metal rotor when rotating is also very strong, so during the take-off of the Z-8, it is strictly forbidden to stand below. This time, the Z-8J helicopter hovered directly over the heads of the Philippine personnel, which is bound to impress the Philippine personnel, and it is no wonder that they jumped directly into the sea to evade.
As a large medium-sized helicopter, the Z-8 could not be carried by the Chinese Navy's destroyers, and could only be equipped on aircraft carriers, 075 amphibious assault ships, and 071 amphibious assault ships, so there may have been large Chinese Navy ships in the waters near Wire Reef at that time. In addition, 20 kilometers southwest of the Wire Reef is our Subi Island, which has become an important base of the mainland in the Nansha Islands after the reclamation operation, and the Z-8J that drove away the Philippine personnel this time may also come from Subi Island.
From a geographical point of view, although the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island is only 5 kilometers away from the Wire Reef, our Subi Island has a more complete wharf and airport, and the PLA fighters stationed on Subi Island can reach the sky over the Wire Reef within a few minutes, so the Philippines has no chance of encroaching on the Wire Reef at all. The appearance of the Chinese Navy's Z-8J helicopter is only a warning to the Philippine side, if the Philippines continues to stubbornly violate China's sovereignty over islands and reefs in the South China Sea, then the countermeasures taken by the PLA are not as simple as dispatching Z-8J helicopters.