United States sent a convoy of military planes including a ‘nuke sniffer’ plane over South China Sea, said a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP). The reported sortie has taken place just a month after a US nuclear submarine hit an underwater object in the South China Sea in October.

The SCMP report quoted experts from an unnamed think tank who, based on satellite images, said that the convoy of US military planes included Constant Phoenix, the ‘nuke sniffer’, an E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, two P-8A maritime patrol planes, and one EP-3E electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft.

On October 2, USS Connecticut, a US nuclear submarine hit an unidentified object underwater in South China Sea. The incident, that had taken place in contentious South China Sea had hit headlines everywhere.

China had slammed the incident as ‘irresponsible’ and had demanded that it be declared whether there was a nuclear leak as a result of the collision.

China claims the entirety of South China Sea as being part of it territorial waters based on the so-called ‘nine-dash line’. Chinese assertiveness and even aggressive moves has raised tension in the region. China currently has disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and others over the issue of South China Sea.

The US and other western countries have taken a stand against China in South China Sea and have batted for freedom of navigation. US and other navies often carry freedom of navigation exercises in South China Sea eliciting angry reactions from Beijing.