Last weekend, China’s air force – the People’s Liberation Army Air Force – posted a video of H-6 bombers attacking a target with CGI missiles, Reuters reports. The video, which is just over two minutes long, was posted to the air force’s Weibo page – a Chinese social media platform.
It depicts the aircraft taking off from a Chinese airbase, before launching an animated missile at what analysts have said appears to be the US’ Andersen Air Force base on the island of Guam.
This is followed by a large explosion – again computer-generated – as seen from above.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, claimed he was “not aware” of the video when pressed for comment at a media briefing yesterday.
The dramatic clip, which reports have compared to a movie trailer, is accompanied with the title: “The god of war H-6K goes on the attack!”
An H6 bomber was depicted hitting a ground target in the footage (Image: Asahi Shimbun / Getty)
An additional description reads: “We are the defenders of the motherland’s aerial security; we have the confidence and ability to always defend the security of the motherland’s skies.”
The US’ Guam base is about 5,800 miles from San Francisco on the US west coast and roughly 1,600 miles east of Manila, the Philippines capital.
The base is considered significant because it is near to Asia, and is therefore important in any US response to a conflict there.
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Chinese foreign ministry official Wang Wenbin has hit out at the US for it’s relationship with Taiwan (Image: Artyom Ivanov / TASS / Getty)
The US Department of Defence had not yet released a statement regarding the video.
The US has caused anger in Beijing recently for repeatedly engaging in official dealing with Taiwan.
China has warned the US not to do so, with Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin referring to Taiwan as “an inalienable part of China’s territory”.
Taiwan, however, maintains its own independence and has held multiple high-level talks with the US in recent weeks.
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Analysts say the base depicted in the video looked like Andersen Air Force Base, Guam (Image: Justin Sullivan / Getty)
In August, US Health Secretary Alex Azar visited the island nation to discuss the coronavirus pandemic and US-Taiwan relations.
Last week, US Undersecretary of State Keith Krach also visited Taiwan. The US said the purpose of his visit was to attend the memorial service of Taiwan’s former president Lee Teng-hui.
China condemned the visits, with Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin issuing a warning to the US at a press briefing yesterday.
He told reporters: “China firmly opposes any kind of official ties between the US and the Taiwan region.
China has recently hit out at the US for its dealings with Taiwan, pictured (Image: kecl / Getty)
“It is a political provocation that emboldens “Taiwan independence” separatists and undermines China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
“We will take countermeasures, including against relevant individuals. The US acts will have further negative consequences on China-US coordination and cooperation on major regional and international issues, for which it bears full responsibility.”
In addition, it was reported just days ago the US is planning a major weapons sale to Taiwan worth roughly $600 million.
A b-52 bomber takes off from the US’ Andersen Air Force base, 2018 (Image: Smith Collection / Gado / Getty)
A source close to the matter told CNN the deal would involve a shipment of MQ-9B Reaper drones as well as missiles used for attacking ships.
The arms deal is a repeat of a much larger weapons agreement reached between the two nations in July last year.
On that occasion, the US sold $2.2 billion worth of military equipment to Taiwan, including over 100 tanks and 250 Stinger missiles, the BBC reports.