KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) detected and intercepted 16 People's Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft from China which entered Malaysian airspace yesterday.
Its chief, General Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad, said the PLAAF aircraft were detected by the RMAF Air Defence Radar from the Air Defence Centre in Sarawak at 11.53am.
"These aircraft were detected flying using in-trail tactical formations at a distance of 60 nautical miles from each other. (The aircraft) flew in a long formation with the same pattern and direction, using a single entry and exit point of passage.
"The aircraft had later changed their direction at Beting Patinggi Ali airspace, which is of interest to Malaysia," said Ackbal in a statement issued by the RMAF public relations department today.
Ackbal said the aircraft were detected to have flown at 23,000 and 27,000 feet with a speed of 290 knots through the Singapore flight information region (FIR) before entering the Malaysian Maritime Zone and Kota Kinabalu (KK) FIR.
"Then, they flew further to reach almost 60 nautical miles from the coast of Sarawak's territory, and this brought the fear of a threat to the nation's sovereignty.
"RMAF then launched Hawk 208 aircraft from the 6th Squadron from the Labuan Air Base to be on standby through RMAF's 'Op Curiga'."
Ackbar said radar monitoring ensued and several attempts were made to direct the PLAAF aircraft to contact KK FIR air traffic control, but the instructions were ignored.
"When the instructions were not followed and it was found that (these aircraft) went beyond the KK FIR toward national airspace, RMAF launched its interceptor aircraft at 1.33pm to conduct visual identification.
"As a result of the air interception that was carried out, RMAF identified the (PLAAF) aircraft as Ilyushin Il-76 and Xian Y-20, which are capable of performing various missions," said Ackbal.
Both aircraft are large transport aircraft.
The RMAF said the incident was a serious matter as it was related to national sovereignty and safety of flights, based on the density of airways in the KK FIR.
"This incident was handled by the RMAF and the armed forces in accordance to the laws and rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and National Air Defence Strategy.
"The Defence Ministry has also informed the Foreign Ministry of the matter," said Ackbal.