United States: The Pentagon’s key official for Indo-Pacific security stated that there have been more cases of Chinese pilots engaging in “coercive and risky” behaviour towards US aircraft in the East and South China Seas in the last two years.
The Pentagon shared photos and videos ahead of the upcoming release of its annual China Military Power Report, anticipated to be published soon.
Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Mr. Ely Ratner described a “sharp increase in coercive and risky operational behaviour in the East and South China seas.”
Mr. Ratner highlighted an event from January 2023, in which a Chinese fighter jet rapidly approached a US aircraft flying in international airspace over the South China Sea, reaching “hundreds of miles per hour.”
The Chinese jet maintained a close distance of 30 feet (9 metres) from the US plane for over 15 minutes, as mentioned by Ratner.
This event happened right after the US Indo-Pacific Command accused a Chinese fighter jet of making a dangerous move while intercepting a US Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane over the highly disputed South China Sea.
“All of these examples we’ve released today underscore the coercive intent of by engaging in behaviours, particularly in international airspace,” Mr. Ratner stated.
“The bottom line is that in many cases, this type of operational behaviour can cause active and dangerous accidents,” Mr. Ratner added.
The US release follows Canada’s report that a Chinese fighter jet came within 5 metres (16 feet) of a Canadian military plane over international waters near North Korea.
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