Watch: Chinese Fighter Jet Intercepts US Surveillance Aircraft Over South China Sea
PLA Navy J-11 Fighter Jet Flying Next to US Air Force RC-135 Reconnaissance Aircraft
The South China Sea is a contested area, with China claiming portions that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Department of Defense did not clarify what area of the South China Sea the incident took place in.The US Department of Defense released a video on Thursday it says shows a Chinese fighter Jet flying dangerously close to a US Air Force aircraft.The release by the US Indo-Pacific Command states the US aircraft had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a crash with a Chinese military plane on December 21.
“[A] People’s Liberation Army – Navy J-11 fighter pilot performed an unsafe maneuver during an intercept of a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace,” the short statement reads. “The PLAN pilot flew an unsafe maneuver by flying in front of and within 20 feet of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the RC-135 to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.”
The RC-135 aircraft referenced in the statement is a reconnaissance aircraft, colloquially known as a spy plane. It came into use during the Cold War in 1962. While its missions are still shrouded in secrecy, it is known the aircraft were used to gather intelligence on Soviet operations and used in conflicts in Grenada, Vietnam, Panama, Libya, Iraq and elsewhere. It is one of the most popular reconnaissance aircrafts used today.The US Air Force fact sheet on the RC-135 says it is capable of “near real time on-scene intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.”This is at least the third time in 2022 that China was accused by allies of the US government of dangerously intercepting military reconnaissance aircraft. In June, Australia said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet intercepted a P-8 surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. That same month, Canada accused Chinese military jets of harassing its surveillance aircraft, which Canada says were observing North Korean sanction evasions.The Chinese government has not commented on the recent incident.According to a report on US activities in the contested body of water in 2021 by the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), the US had a “sharp increase in the intensity and frequency” of “close-in” aerial reconnaissance operations in the area, including RC-135 aircraft. The SCSPI is an international research network that claims not to be affiliated with any institution and is funded by donations.
China’s Interception of Australian Spy Plane Among ‘Most Significant Threats to Peace,’ US Claims28 July, 10:46 GMTAn analysis by Hu Bo, the director of the SCSPI, details there are four scenarios where the US military and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may come into close contact with each other: when US forces enter the territorial waters or airspace off the coast of mainland China, when the US enters the waters or airspace of the disputed Paracel Islands, or the Chinese occupied portions of the disputed Spratly Islands, or when both nations are conducting military drills near each other.In 2020, the Chinese government accused a US Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane of entering a no-fly zone being used by the PLA for live fire exercises. A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said the incident could have “easily resulted in misjudgments and even accidents,” and called the action “an obvious provocation.”The US claimed at the time the U-2 spy plane flew within international rules, an assertion they repeated in regards to the recent incident. “The US Indo-Pacific Joint Force is dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and will continue to fly, sail and operate at sea and in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law,” the DoD’s statement reads. “We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.”
