PETALING JAYA: A US Air Force aircraft used a transponder code to electronically impersonate a Malaysian plane while spying on China’s military bases, the US-based Popular Mechanics has reported, quoting a Chinese think tank. The RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft flew off China’s Hainan island on Tuesday (Sept 8), coming within 90km miles of the Chinese mainland. The plane flew southwest, following the Ryukyu islands chain, past Taiwan, to loiter off the coast of Hainan Island, Popular Mechanics said, adding that enough details were provided on Twitter for independent verification. “That’s the ICAO number for an unknown Malaysian aircraft. The South Sea Probing Initiative is a China-based think tank whose advisory board includes serving officers of the People’s Liberation Army and Chinese Navy.

Source: thestar September 11, 2020 06:00 UTC