China’s military planes have been delivering ‘regular military supplies’ to Serbia. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said while commenting on an unusual operation Saturday that saw six Chinese Y20 transport planes land in Belgrade. According to the spokesman, the operation was part of the two countries’ annual cooperation plan, did not target third parties and “has nothing to do with the current situation”.
The planes’ arrival sparked strong speculation that they would carry HQ22 surfacetoair missiles under the terms of an agreement previously signed by the parties. And China itself then confirmed that it had sent them.
The six Y20 transport planes, flying the airspace of two NATO countries (Turkey and Bulgaria), landed at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla civilian airport on Saturday to deliver missiles ordered by Serbia, which has very close ties with Russia. The US advised against their purchase in 2020, warning that joining the EU or other western alliances would involve the use of defense systems of more uniform and western standards.
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