‘Provocative, dangerous’: China blames US for aerial confrontation

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By Webdesk


Aircraft incident over the South China Sea, the latest in a series of clashes between Chinese and US armies.

China has blamed a US “provocation” for an incident in which a Chinese plane flew in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea.

“The prolonged and frequent sending of ships and aircraft by the United States to closely monitor China seriously impairs China’s national sovereignty and security,” State Department spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

“This kind of provocative, dangerous activity is the cause of the safety problems at sea. China will continue to take all necessary steps to resolutely protect its own sovereignty and security,” Mao said.

The US military said on Tuesday that a Chinese fighter pilot performed an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” near a US surveillance aircraft operating over the South China Sea last week.

Video footage released by the US military shows a Chinese fighter jet crossing in front of the US plane, which can be seen through the resulting turbulence.

The Chinese plane “flew directly in front and within 120 meters [122 metres] of the RC-135’s nose, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence,” the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

“The RC-135 conducted safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law,” it added.

The incident comes at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues such as Taiwan, which China considers its territory, and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year.

‘Risky air interceptions’

The Pentagon said the incident was part of a pattern from China.

A senior US defense official said there has been an “alarming increase in risky aerial intercepts and naval engagements” by Chinese aircraft and ships – actions that “have the potential to create an unsafe incident or miscalculation”.

The announcement came a day after China rejected a US invitation to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet his Chinese counterpart in Singapore this week.

Beijing said the US is “fully responsible for the current difficulties in the exchanges between the two armies”.

“On the one hand, the United States continues to say it wants to strengthen communications,” China’s defense ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Wednesday. “But on the other hand, it ignores China’s concerns and artificially creates obstacles, seriously undermining mutual trust between the two militaries.”

Austin and other US officials have been working to strengthen alliances and partnerships in Asia as part of efforts to counter Beijing’s increasingly assertive moves. But there are also tentative signs that the two sides are working to lower temperatures.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna earlier this month, and President Joe Biden later said ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw “very quickly.”





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