Beijing’s new rescue plane to boost emergency operations in South China Sea
With a maximum take-off weight of 7.5 tonnes, the fixed-wing aircraft has an air range of 2,570 nautical miles and a maximum cruise speed of 561km/h (349mph).
It can perform 24-hour rescue missions in all but the most extreme weather, which “will significantly enhance China’s comprehensive offshore emergency response and rescue capabilities”, CCTV said.
The extended radius could allow the maritime force to cover a large area of the South China Sea spanning about 2,000km (1,243 miles) from north to south and about 1,000km from east to west.
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In June, China commissioned Italian-made AW189 helicopters for the ministry’s rescue teams, which expanded the coverage radius to 200 nautical miles from the previous 110.
“China has a small number of large and medium-sized search and rescue helicopters,” researchers with the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation said in a paper published in the journal World Shipping last June. They added that there was also a gap between China’s sea and air coordinated search and rescue capabilities and those of developed countries.
In addition to the new fixed-wing aircraft, the rescue force includes 218 high-power salvage vessels, 24 helicopters, and 19 emergency rescue teams in major strategic maritime domains, according to CCTV.
The value of China’s marine economy reached nearly 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) in 2023, an increase of 6 per cent year on year. The growth rate was 0.8 percentage points higher than the overall GDP growth, according to government statistics.