A Chinese fighter pilot carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” close to an American surveillance plane working over the South China Sea final week, the US army stated Tuesday.
The incident — which the Pentagon says is a part of a sample of habits by China — comes at a time of already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over points together with Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after traversing the United States earlier this yr.
The Chinese aircraft “flew directly in front of and within 400 feet of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the US aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence” on Friday, the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) stated in a press release.
“The RC-135 was conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law,” the command stated.
Declassified video footage exhibits a fighter aircraft crossing in entrance of the American plane, which might be seen shaking from the ensuing turbulence.
A senior US protection official stated there was an “alarming increase in the number of risky aerial intercepts and confrontations at sea” by Chinese plane and ships — actions that “have the potential to create an unsafe incident or miscalculation.”
“We don’t believe it’s done by pilots operating independently,” the official stated. “We believe it’s part of a wider pattern.”
The same incident involving a Chinese jet and a US RC-135 passed off in December, forcing the American aircraft “to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision,” INDOPACOM stated on the time
The announcement on the most recent incident got here a day after the Pentagon stated Beijing had refused a US invitation for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to satisfy his Chinese counterpart in Singapore later this week.
But the senior official stated the timing of the announcement was unrelated to China’s refusal of the invitation, explaining that details about the plane incident “was subject to the US military declassification process and US diplomatic communication process.”
Austin and different US officers have been working to shore up alliances and partnerships in Asia as a part of efforts to counter more and more assertive strikes by Beijing, however there have additionally been tentative indicators that the 2 sides have been working to decrease the temperature.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and prime Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna earlier this month, and President Joe Biden later stated that ties between Washington and Beijing ought to thaw “very soon.” — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
