Chinese Fighter Jet Cuts Its Reconnaissance Plane Path To Natural Turbulence, US Military: Aggressive And Unnecessary

Chinese fighter jets shortly before maneuvering in front of US reconnaissance aircraft. (Source: US Indo-Pacific Command)

JAKARTA - The United States military has criticized China's fighter jets for carrying out dangerous maneuvers near its reconnaissance aircraft until turbulence broke out, but the Chinese envoy turned to blame Washington, with the incident taking place in the international airspace of the South China Sea.

US military command for the Indo-Pacific region (US Indo-Pacific Command) said China's J-16 aircraft maneuvers took place last week, making the RC-135 aircraft'shake' due to the turbulence caused.

In the video uploaded on the US Indo-Pacific Command website, you can see a Chinese fighter jet that originally flew on the one hand, moving to the other side by passing right in front of a US reconnaissance aircraft.

"A fighter J-16 pilot of the People's Republic of China carried out unnecessary aggressive maneuvers during the interception of the US Air Force RC-135 aircraft (on) May 26, 2023. The RRT pilot flew right in front of the nose of RC-135, forcing US aircraft to fly through turbulence," the US Indo-Pacific Command wrote on its website, as reported May 31.

"The RC-135 is conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law," the statement continued.

The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows, the US Indo-Pacific Command said.

"The US Indo-Pacific Joint Force will continue to fly in international airspace taking into account the safety of all ships and aircraft under international law. law," he wrote.

"We hope that all countries in the Indo-Pacific region use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law," said the US Indo-Pacific Command.

Separately, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu, did not comment specifically, but said, for a long time, the United States had "often deployed aircraft and ships for close-range reconnaissance in China, which poses a serious danger to China's national security."

"China urged the US to stop such dangerous provocations, and stop turning mistakes on China," Liu said in an emailed response to a request for comment on a US military statement.

He added that China would "continue to take the necessary steps to firmly defend its sovereignty and security, work with regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea."

The latest incident occurred before China rejected a request for a meeting of the defense ministers of the two countries, on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue annual security meeting in Singapore this week.