Documentation of the dangerous provocation: A Chinese fighter jet gets too close to an American aircraft
The plane of the United States Army was forced to perform evasive actions when the Chinese Army was flying at a distance of only three meters from it, this in international territory near the communist country
The United States military released on Thursday a document from a particularly tense moment that occurred last week, when a Chinese military aircraft flew about three meters away from a US Air Force aircraft, which had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid resistance in international airspace.
The air incident occurred on December 21 in the South China Sea, in what the United States calls a trend of dangerous behavior on the part of the Chinese military. It included an RC-135 aircraft of the US Air Force, and a J-11 fighter jet of the Chinese Navy.
“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” said a statement issued by the United States military.
The military spokesman said the Chinese plane came within about three meters of the American plane’s wing, but about six meters from the head of the plane – forcing the pilot to perform evasive maneuvers.
After the dangerous incident, the US raised the issue with the Chinese government, but no details have been released regarding any response from the communist side.
Chinese fighter jet comes dangerously close to US reconnaissance plane in South China Sea https://t.co/OxO2fjIvXK pic.twitter.com/hFNVP0T1Qj
— Taiwan News (@TaiwanNews886) December 30, 2022
US planes and ships routinely carry out military operations in international areas adjacent to China, which claims many parts of the South China Sea, which overlap with areas of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, as its own.
Also, the communist government said in the past that sending American vessels and aircraft to the region is a move that harms peace.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Ostim raised the need to improve communication between the parties, noting then the dangerous behavior of Chinese military aircraft.
Australia also complained about similar behavior on the part of the Chinese military, and in June published that a Chinese fighter jet flew very close to an Australian RAAF type aircraft, and released a “chaff bundle” – a means of jamming or misleading radar, containing small pieces of aluminum, which were swallowed by the engine of the Australian aircraft.
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