A US Navy P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft and a Chinese military airplane came close to each other over the South China Sea in an incident the US Navy believes was inadvertent, a US official told reporters on Thursday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft came within 305m of each other on Wednesday in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島).
The official added that such incidents involving Chinese and US aircraft are infrequent, with only two having taken place last year.
Photo: AP
The US aircraft was “on a routine mission operating in accordance with international law,” US Pacific Command said in a statement.
“On Feb. 8, an interaction characterized by US Pacific Command as ‘unsafe’ occurred in international air space above the South China Sea, between a Chinese KJ-200 aircraft and a US Navy P-3C aircraft,” it said.
The KJ-200 is an airborne early warning and control aircraft based originally on the old Soviet-designed An-12.
“The [US] Department of Defense and US Pacific Command are always concerned about unsafe interactions with Chinese military forces,” it added. “We will address the issue in appropriate diplomatic and military channels.”
In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense told state media that the Chinese pilot responded with “legal and professional measures.”
“We hope the US side keeps in mind the present condition of relations between the two countries and militaries, adopts practical measures and eliminates the origin of air and sea mishaps between the two countries,” the Global Times cited an unnamed ministry official as saying.
Separately, the ministry yesterday said in a statement that three ships had left port for drills in the South China Sea, eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.
China’s blockade of the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing spot, prompted the previous Philippine government to file a legal case in 2013 with the Hague, Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, infuriating Beijing, which refused to take part.
While the court last year largely rejected China’s claims, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to mend ties with Beijing and the situation around the shoal has largely calmed down.
China is deeply suspicious of any US military activity in the resource-rich South China Sea.
In December last year, a Chinese naval vessel picked up a US underwater drone in the South China Sea near the Philippines, triggering a US diplomatic protest.
China later returned the drone.
The US has previously criticized what it called China’s militarization of its maritime outposts in the South China Sea, stressing the need for freedom of navigation with periodic air and naval patrols nearby, angering Beijing.
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