Video: US fumes as Chinese jet ‘aggressively’ flies close to its spy plane

New Delhi: A Chinese J-16 fighter jet flew dangerously close to an American spy plane over the South China Sea on Friday, throwing the American pilot into a turbulent environment, a US military statement said. According to the US Indo-Pacific Command, a Chinese J-16 fighter pilot “flew right in front of the nose of an RC-135,” which was conducting routine operations in international airspace last Friday. The statement said the Chinese move was an “unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre”. US defense leaders have said that China’s military has become more aggressive over the past five years, confronting US aircraft and ships in the region. The situation with China has worsened in recent months due to US military aid and arms sales to Taiwan, which it claims as its own, and flying a possible spy balloon over the US.

Taking to Twitter, the US Indo-Pacific Command shared a video of the incident in which Chinese fighter jets can be seen passing dangerously close to the US aircraft.

#USINDOPACOM release statement #PRC Non-Commercial Interception: “We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law.”

Read more⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AvPKRZHCZB

– US Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) May 30, 2023

In another sign of tensions, China said its defense chief would not meet with the US. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when the two men attend a security conference in Singapore over the coming weekend. Austin is scheduled to address the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, while Chinese Defense Minister General Li Shangfu will address the gathering on Sunday.

Brig. Pentagon Press Secretary General Pat Ryder said that China informed the US that it was declining Austin’s invitation to meet while they were at the summit. He said Beijing’s “reluctance to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions” would not undermine the Defense Department’s commitment to finding open lines of communication with the Chinese military.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning accused the US on Tuesday, saying that Washington should “seriously respect China’s sovereignty and security interests and concerns, promptly correct wrongdoings, show sincerity and hold talks between the two militaries”. and create the necessary atmosphere and conditions for communication”.

In a visit to the Indo-Pacific last summer, US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific with US and other allied forces had increased significantly. time, and the number of unsafe interactions increased in a similar proportion

China frequently challenges the military aircraft of the US and its allies, especially over the strategically important South China Sea, which China claims outright. Such behavior led to an air collision in 2001 in which a Chinese aircraft was lost and the pilot was killed. Beijing deeply opposes the presence of US military assets in that region, and regularly demands that US ships and aircraft leave the area.

In the statement on Tuesday, the US Indo-Pacific Command said the US will continue to fly, sail and operate safely and responsibly “wherever international law permits,” and expects all other countries to do the same. Is.