BEIJING-China criticized Washington for deploying a USA reconnaissance plane near Chinese territory, but denied a Pentagon account that Chinese jet fighters conducted a risky close-range interception.
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On Wednesday, a USA defense official told CNN that the Chinese jets came within 50 feet of the EP-3 during the incident. The Chinese aircraft came within roughly 50 feet of the U.S. plane and were so close that the U.S. EP-3E was forced to descend to avoid collision, according to a report from the Associated Press.
“Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe”, Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza explained.
China has rejected US claims that its warplanes manoeuvred unsafely when they intercepted a US Navy reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea.
“These excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with global law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention in that they purport to restrict the navigation rights that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise”, U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Bill Urban said via email.
Rival territorial claims in the South China Sea have been a major source of friction between China and its neighbours, particularly Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion (S$6.9 trillion) in shipborne trade passes every year.
Much to Beijing’s annoyance, the U.S. military has conducted several “freedom of navigation” operations, in which planes or ships pass within a 12-nautical-mile buffer around the Chinese installations.
American Secretary of State John Kerry said the USA was attempting to halt the militarization of the South China Sea region by China.
A Pentagon report to Congress on Friday that accused China of “coercive tactics” in the region also infuriated the country. How the USA will respond further to any change in Chinese strategy remains to be seen.
China on Thursday urged the U.S.to stop close-in reconnaissance missions following US claims two Chinese fighter jets carried out an “unsafe” intercept of a USA military aircraft over the South China Sea.
Two Chinese aircraft tailed a US EP-3 reconnaissance plan as it “flew close” to the island province of Hainan, he said, but kept “a safe distance” and did not make “dangerous moves”. The Pentagon claimed that the aircraft was on “routine patrol” when the J-11s came within fifty feet of the Aries. “We urge the United States to immediately stop spying activities and prevent such events from happening again”.
Mr Zhang Baohui, a security expert at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, said he believed the encounter highlighted the limitation of Cues and shows that Chinese pilots would still fly close to USA surveillance planes if needed.
Last month, the Pentagon asked China to confirm it had plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratlys after China used a military aircraft to evacuate sick workers from Fiery Cross Reef.
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“But the United States has preferred blaming its provoked targets before the targets publicly react, and the USA aircraft pilots tend to impose belligerence”, Zhang said.
