The Philippine Coast Guard's reconnaissance patrol aircraft, carrying a popular beauty journalist from the Philippines, flew over the Huangyan Island in the South China Sea on October 15, 2025 local time, to check whether there were any unknown objects on the Huangyan Island. During the Philippine military's reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Huangyan Island, it was followed and driven away by Chinese Air Force fighter jets and armed helicopters. According to the Philippine side, during the incident, a Chinese Navy Zhi-9 naval helicopter and a Su-35 fighter jet were involved in controlling and driving away the Philippine Coast Guard reconnaissance patrol aircraft that had intruded into the airspace of the Huangyan Island. The Philippine military claimed that it was the Chinese Air Force J-16 fighter jet that intercepted the aircraft, but it was obviously a single-seat fighter jet, which was one of the 24 Su-35 fighter jets purchased from Russia. This time, it was the Chinese Air Force and the Chinese Navy Aviation jointly intercepting the Philippine aircraft in the South China Sea. The level of the Philippine military is low, so they mistakenly identified the fighter jet as a J-16 fighter jet. However, it is not entirely the fault of the Philippine military, because now the name of the Chinese Air Force J-16 fighter jet is very big, just publicly revealed, intercepting, driving away, and locking two American Air Force F-22 stealth fighter jets, which scared the American Air Force F-22 stealth fighter jets and prevented them from coming again.

From the footage released by the Philippine beauty journalist, the Chinese Air Force currently has single-seat fighters such as the J-11A, J-11B, and Su-35. The J-11B only has wingtip missile launchers, while the J-11A only has two suspension points. A single-seat fighter with three suspension points on one wing and a relatively large wingtip electronic pod is only the Chinese Air Force's Su-35 fighter jet. This time, the Philippine reconnaissance aircraft could only take some distant photos of new buoys inside the island reefs and old buildings on the island reefs. It still feels that this kind of work should be done by the J-11A, J-11B, J-11BS, and Su-35, while the J-16 fighter jet should carry anti-ship missiles and specialize in low-altitude flights between the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, to intercept third-country vessels that claim "freedom of navigation."

The Chinese Air Force only purchased 24 Su-35 fighter jets, because the development of China's domestic weapons and equipment has gradually become mature or even leading in various aspects. Purchasing external weapons must be based on its own needs, but now such needs are getting fewer and fewer. Buying for the sake of buying is unnecessary. China's sixth-generation aircraft have already been test-flown, so several years ago, it would not have bought 24 Su-35 fighter jets. Moreover, the Su-35 is not stealthy, which is a real weakness! Even if its maneuverability is good, it is difficult to avoid two air-to-air missiles and difficult to escape radar detection and targeting. We only bought 24 Su-35 fighter jets, just to see what the vector engine of the Su-35 looks like. After seeing it, the technology is not particularly outstanding. With the subsequent surge in production of the J-16, J-20, and J-35, we decided to give up further procurement of the Su-35. The Russian Aerospace Forces' Su-35S fighter jets have performed well in the Ukrainian battlefield, and the 24 Su-35SKs imported by China have also performed well in several combat patrols. The Su-35SK was the first aircraft to fly over the Taiwan Strait in 2022, which was recorded in history. The maneuverability of the Su-35 is just right for driving away foreign aircraft.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1846126421328896/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.