WZ-7 Takes Part in Drills Near Scarborough Shoal
The South China Morning Post reports the WZ-7’s first deployment in the South China Sea came during Sunday exercises near the disputed shoal; CCTV reported the drone joined the drills.
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The South China Morning Post reported that China deployed a WZ-7 reconnaissance drone in the South China Sea for the first time during Sunday’s exercises near Scarborough Shoal. The reported first is the drone’s use in the South China Sea; the report separately places its exercise participation near the shoal.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command announced joint air and naval exercises in the waters and airspace around the shoal, saying they had taken place earlier on Sunday. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the long-range WZ-7 joined the exercises alongside fighter aircraft operating from multiple airfields.
Scarborough Shoal, also called Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is a major flashpoint between the two countries, which both claim the coral atoll. The South China Morning Post’s account relays the command’s announcement and CCTV’s report; it does not establish an independent verification of the drone’s participation.
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