Turkey's unprecedented air exercise with China

[ErnstBlofeld]

East Asia Intel:

Turkey's unprecedented air exercise with China shocks NATO allies


Reports from Turkey revealed last week that China's air forces carried out secret military exercises with Turkish forces, an unprecedented move by a NATO ally that raises further suspicions about Turkey's growing anti-Western sentiment.


According to Taraf news, Turkish and Chinese air forces secretly took part in a military drill in Konya as part of the “Anatolian Eagle” war games that were opposed by the United States.
Quoting Turkish and Western sources, Taraf reported that the military drills took place but provided no details on exact dates or types of aircraft involved.

Washington made a diplomatic request for information about the war games.

The maneuvers followed last year’s decision by Ankara to exclude Israel from its war games based on Turkey’s growing support for Palestinians.

Since the early 2000s, Turkey has held war games in the central Anatolian province of Konya with other members of the alliance or non-member friendly nations. However, this would be the first time a military drill was conducted with China.

Richard Fisher, a China affairs specialist with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said the Turkish-Chinese cooperation is unprecedented and raised concerns about compromise of U.S. aircraft and weapons technology.

“It is the first NATO member to conduct air exercises with the PLAAF,” he said. “France has hosted PLAAF pilots on what were likely air force exchanges, allowed them to fly in Mirage fighters, but to my knowledge has not conducted a full up exercise with the PLAAF. NATO naval forces have been visiting China for decades, as have US naval forces.”

Fisher notes that in the late 1990s Turkey used Chinese technology to develop the B611 short-range ballistic missile, a project with China.

“China has had plenty of opportunities to assess the F-16, and even tried to purchase them from the U.S. in the early 1980s, but having a NATO member engage in flying exercises with China would require approval at many levels,” Fisher said. “If the Obama Administration was not consulted or did not approve, that would then raise legitimate questions over Turkey's willingness to safeguard a great deal more U.S. defense technology upon which it relies.”

[ErnstBlofeld]

The CHinese are developing technology to carry the B-61 bombs. It happens those bombs are stored by the USAF in Turkey.