The unsafe interception of a United States EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft was carried out by two Chinese J-11 tactical aircraft, which the Pentagon said was on an worldwide airspace over South China Sea.
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Hong said China had acted professionally and in accordance with the law.
In 2001, a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US surveillance plane in which the Chinese pilot was killed and the American crew detained on Hainan led to a crisis in U.S.
A pair of Chinese fighter jets intercepted a USA military aircraft that was conducting a reconnaissance flight over the South China Sea on Tuesday, May 17, the Defense Department said.
“Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe”, he added, without giving additional details. “We urge the USA to immediately stop spying activities and prevent such events from happening again”.
“We believe our folks were flying in a safe manner for sure”, he said at a press briefing. “They maintained safe behavior and did not engage in any risky action”.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region as China has sought to assert its control in the face of competing territorial claims from countries in the region.
But the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims in the area.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea and its maritime features through a nine-dash line while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
The US has reportedly conducted at least three military missions since last October to stress its right to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, in response to China’s construction of civilian-military facilities on islands enlarged through reclamation. Hong evidently is referring to the waters off the disputed islands.
It’s important to note that we so far only have the American version of what occurred on this occasion.
While Washington has historically tied sales of military weapons to a country’s human rights record, in Vietnam’s case US lawmakers may be incited to proceed anyway. “But if we get a repeat of the 2001 spy-plane incident, things could get pretty dicey”.
The United States has threatened to violate the sovereignty of many countries through aerial surveillance, including Russia, Venezuela and China.
Following a visit to China on May 17, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed that the US government will not take sides in the dispute.
Artificial islands Tensions in the region have mounted in recent months.
The two aircraft were reportedly J-11 fighters, some of which have been stationed on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands since November 2015.
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Radar and electronic countermeasures were also used during the exercises.
