China fighter jet flew within six metres of US surveillance plane
A Chinese fighter jet flew within six metres (20 feet) of a United States Air Force surveillance plane over the hotly contested South China Sea earlier this month, the US military said on Thursday.
On December 21, a Chinese J-11 fighter pilot performed an “unsafe” manoeuvre during an intercept of a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command, which also released a video clip of the incident.
Footage of the encounter shows the Chinese jet fighter flying within several metres of the nose of the much larger surveillance plane, a manoeuvre which the US said had forced its pilot to take “evasive” measures to avoid a collision.
The US said its aircraft was flying “lawfully” while conducting routine operations in international airspace.
“The US Indo-Pacific Joint Force is dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and will continue to fly, sail and operate at sea and in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law,” the US military said in a statement.
“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” the statement added.
In recent months, Chinese warplane pilots have been accused of flying dangerously close to aircraft, notably of several US allies, patrolling geopolitically sensitive locations in the region.
In June, Canada accused China of harassing its aircraft which were conducting United Nations sanctions patrols along the North Korean border. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the reports “extremely troubling” at the time.
Australia also alleged a Chinese fighter jet “dangerously” intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in May. The alleged encounters occurred on April 26 and May 26.
A US military spokesperson told The New York Times that the most recent intercept by a Chinese jet occurred amid an “alarming increase in the number of unsafe aerial intercepts and confrontations at sea by PLA [People’s Liberation Army] aircraft and vessels”.
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Thanks for keeping the news flowing over the Holidays Patriotman .