https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3946665
US Stratotanker spotted flying south of Taiwan, near Dongsha Islands
A U.S. military aerial refueling aircraft was spotted flying just south of Taiwan and near Dongsha Islands in the northern part of the South China Sea on Friday morning (June 12).
At 9:32 a.m. on Monday, Twitter user Golf9, who specializes in airband monitoring and radar and aircraft spotting, reported that a Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker was returning to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa after flying over the South China Sea. The jet's flight path showed it passing over the Bashi Channel, just south of Taiwan.
According to aircraft spotting site AirNav RadarBox, the plane, which has the call number PEARL46, took off from Kadena Air Base and reached a maximum altitude of 21,500 feet (6,553 meters) as it flew southwest near the east coast of Taiwan before turning west and flying over the Bashi Channel. Once the jet reached the vicinity of the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands, 東沙群島), it turned and headed back east, following a similar pattern back to its base in Okinawa.
China is reportedly planning on deploying its two aircraft carriers in waters near Taiwan as part of its war games in August to rehearse for a future assault on the Dongsha Islands. China's state-run mouthpiece the Global Times on May 13 cited "experts" as saying the islands are strategically located and that the PLA has the capability to turn "any exercise into action if Taiwan secessionists insist on secession."