“Unsafe maneuver” between Chinese and US aircraft over the South China Sea raises tensions

A Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close (about twenty feet) to a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of China Meridional, reported Thursday military sources from USA.

In the incident, which occurred on December 21, a Chinese pilot aboard a J-11 fighter jet “executed an unsafe maneuver when intercepting a United States Air Force RC-135 aircraft”, the Indo-Pacific Command of the US forces said in a statement.

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The Chinese pilot flew in front of and about twenty feet from the nose of the American aircraft.”forcing the RC-135 to take evasive action to avoid a collision”, added the text.

The RC-135 “was conducting routine actions lawfully in international airspace over the South China Sea”, stated the command.

The incident comes as China has sent ever-larger groups of warplanes over the sea toward Taiwan in a show of force and as Beijing toughens sovereignty claims over the US-backed self-governing island.

Last week, China conducted overflights with 71 military aircraft, including dozens of fighter jets, in military exercises around Taiwan, one of the largest actions ever launched by Beijing by deploying military aircraft to the island’s air defense identification zone. .

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The People’s Liberation Army said it had carried out a “mock attack” on Sunday in response to “provocations” not specified and “collusion” between the United States and Taiwan.

According to the AFP database, there have been more than 1,700 such raids this year, compared with 969 in 2021. Taiwan’s defense ministry said about 380 were registered in 2020.

The United States has provided Taiwan with military aid and advanced technologies to defend against a possible Chinese invasion.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.