Beijing Blames United States Provocation For South China Sea Fighter Jet Incident

On Wednesday, Beijing condemned the US for a provocation in which a Chinese plane flew in front of an American surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea.

In response to the incident, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harm China’s national sovereignty and security”.

“This kind of provocative, dangerous activity is the cause of the security issues on the seas”, Mao added, urging Washington to “immediately stop this form of dangerous provocation”.

“China will continue to take all necessary steps to resolutely protect its own sovereignty and security”, she declared.

The US military claimed Tuesday that a Chinese fighter pilot made an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver near an American surveillance aircraft flying over the South China Sea.

The US military declassified and released video footage of a Chinese fighter plane flying in front of the American aircraft, which can be seen shaking from the resulting turbulence.

In a statement, the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said, “The Chinese plane 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”.

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

According to the Pentagon, the incident was part of China’s pattern of behavior.

It comes at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing are topics such as Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after passing through the United States earlier this year.

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