Washington [US], December 30: Reuters news agency on December 30 reported that a Chinese fighter jet approached a US Air Force surveillance plane in international airspace over the South China Sea at a distance of only 3m, forcing the US aircraft to maneuver to avoid a collision.
The incident comes after the United States said that Chinese military aircraft have recently been engaged in increasingly dangerous behavior.
The US military released a statement saying that the incident on December 21 involved the Chinese Navy's J-11 fighter and the US Air Force RC-135 aircraft.
"We expect all countries in the Indo- Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in compliance with international law," the statement said.
A US military spokesman said the Chinese fighter approached at a distance of 3m from the wing, and 6m from the nose of the plane, causing the US aircraft to maneuver to avoid.
Another official said the US side had raised the issue with the Chinese government. The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC did not respond to a request for comment.
The US military often sends planes and ships to conduct reconnaissance and travel activities in the area. China has said that such activities are not good for peace.
During a November meeting with his Chinese counterpart, the US defense secretary raised the need to improve crisis communications and noted what he called the dangerous behavior of Chinese planes.
In June, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense also said that a Chinese fighter dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance aircraft operating in the South China Sea in May. Also in June, the military Canadian team accused Chinese military planes of harassing a Canadian patrol plane monitoring sanctions on North Korea.
In another development, the Global Times on the evening of December 29 quoted a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Japan Joint Self-Defense Forces, saying that China's Liaoning aircraft carrier recently approached Guam, a base for the first time, for the first time. key US military in the 2nd island chain.
The operation is part of an exercise in the western Pacific, and the aircraft carrier is accompanied by Type 055, Type 052D, Type 054A and Type 901 ships. The Liaoning can carry about 260 fighters and helicopters. carry out take-off and landing operations from December 17.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
