The United States has accused a Chinese fighter jet of conducting an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver near a U.S. military plane in international airspace over the South China Sea. The incident occurred last week, according to a statement released by the U.S. military command responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. The Chinese J-16 aircraft allegedly forced the U.S. RC-135 plane to fly through its wake turbulence during the encounter.
The statement emphasized that the United States will continue to operate safely and responsibly wherever international law permits. A video capturing the incident showed the Chinese fighter jet passing in front of the U.S. plane’s nose, causing turbulence that visibly shook the RC-135’s cockpit.
#USINDOPACOM Statement on #PRC Unprofessional Intercept: “We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.”
Read more⬇️https://t.co/jeAEg1lHXz pic.twitter.com/AvPKRZHCZB
— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) May 30, 2023
As of now, the Chinese embassy in Washington has not responded to the allegations. In the past, China has criticized the U.S. for its military presence in the South China Sea, arguing that it hampers peace and stability in the region.
While such intercepts have occurred before, this incident follows a pattern of what the United States views as increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft. In a previous encounter in December, a Chinese military plane came within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force aircraft, necessitating evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace.
Interestingly, this recent incident happened just before China rejected a request from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in Singapore. According to an anonymous senior U.S. defense official, China has declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests for dialogue with the Pentagon since 2021.
Tensions between China and the United States have remained high, with various points of contention, including Taiwan, China’s human rights record, and its military activities in the South China Sea.
