South China Sea: US military deploys civilian aircraft on covert surveillance ops | World | News

Beijing-backed think-tank the South China Sea Probing Initiative (SSCBI) said three planes had been used to conduct secret surveillance flights over the disputed waters. A report from the group said the aircraft had taken off from bases in Okinawa in Japan and Manila in the Philippines and had carried 150 patrols in the East China, Yellow and South China seas since March. American planes fly anywhere that itࢀ™s legal and continue their flights in Asia Major Randy Ready It said US military chiefs had hired the civilian planes from private companies called Tenax Aerospace and Meta Special Aerospace. Deploying the…