Chinese Jets Intercept U.S. Spy Plane Over East China Sea
U.S. says one of the jets closed on plane at ‘unsafe excessive speed’; second such incident in a month
The Chinese fighter jets that intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the East China Sea Tuesday were J-10s, like these two from a Chinese aerobatics team.PHOTO: NARONG SANGNAK/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
—A Chinese jet fighter conducted an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. spy plane in international airspace over the East China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Command said, in the second such midair encounter in a month.
The jet was one of two Chinese J-10 fighters that intercepted a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane on routine patrol Tuesday, the Pacific Command said in a statement. That same day, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Beijing for annual economic and security negotiations that included discussions of regional tensions.
The intercept was the second sinceBeijing and Washington agreed on rules of behavior for air encounters last September. The Pentagon said last month that a Chinese fighter had flown dangerously close to a U.S. spy planeover the South China Sea. China denied that its plane flew dangerously during that encounter and accused the U.S. of threatening its security by regularly patrolling along the Chinese coast.
China’s foreign and defense ministries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about Tuesday’s encounter.
The Pacific Command didn't specify where Tuesday’s intercept occurred, saying only that it was in international airspace over the East China Sea. China and Japan both claim a small group of islands there, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.
“One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft,” the Pacific Command statement said. “Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred.”
The Defense Department is addressing the issue with China “in appropriate diplomatic and military channels,” the statement said.
The recent intercepts have raised questions among some foreign military officials about Beijing’s commitment to the air-encounters agreement, which both sides hailed as an important step in stabilizing military relations.
There had been several close air and sea encounters in the preceding years, which some U.S. officials feared could lead to a collision like one in 2001 over the South China Sea between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter. The Chinese jet crashed, killing the pilot; the damaged U.S. plane was forced to land on China’s Hainan Island.
There is also mounting concern among U.S. and Asian officials that China plans to establish an air-defense identification zone, or ADIZ, over the South China Sea, which would require all foreign aircraft to identify themselves to Chinese authorities.
China established an ADIZ over the East China Sea in 2013, prompting protests from the U.S. and several Asian countries. Washington responded by sending two B-52 bombers inside the zone without notifying Chinese authorities.
Secretary Kerry said on Sunday that the U.S. would regard establishing a similar zone over the South China Sea as “provocative and destabilizing.”After two days of talks in Beijing, Mr. Kerry said on Tuesday he had expressed concern about any unilateral steps to alter the status quo in the South China Sea.
China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, said after the talks that Beijing respected freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea but had a right to uphold its sovereign rights, and urged the U.S. not to take sides in territorial disputes in the area. China hasn’t announced plans to establish an ADIZ there, but has said repeatedly that it reserves the right to do so anywhere around its territory based on its assessment of aerial threats.
In the past two years Beijing has asserted its extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea—which are disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan—by building several artificial islands, including airstrips.
The Chinese fighter jets that intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the East China Sea Tuesday were J-10s, like these two from a Chinese aerobatics team.PHOTO: NARONG SANGNAK/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
—A Chinese jet fighter conducted an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. spy plane in international airspace over the East China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Command said, in the second such midair encounter in a month.
The jet was one of two Chinese J-10 fighters that intercepted a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane on routine patrol Tuesday, the Pacific Command said in a statement. That same day, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Beijing for annual economic and security negotiations that included discussions of regional tensions.
The intercept was the second sinceBeijing and Washington agreed on rules of behavior for air encounters last September. The Pentagon said last month that a Chinese fighter had flown dangerously close to a U.S. spy planeover the South China Sea. China denied that its plane flew dangerously during that encounter and accused the U.S. of threatening its security by regularly patrolling along the Chinese coast.
China’s foreign and defense ministries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about Tuesday’s encounter.
The Pacific Command didn't specify where Tuesday’s intercept occurred, saying only that it was in international airspace over the East China Sea. China and Japan both claim a small group of islands there, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.
“One of the intercepting Chinese jets had an unsafe excessive rate of closure on the RC-135 aircraft,” the Pacific Command statement said. “Initial assessment is that this seems to be a case of improper airmanship, as no other provocative or unsafe maneuvers occurred.”
The Defense Department is addressing the issue with China “in appropriate diplomatic and military channels,” the statement said.
The recent intercepts have raised questions among some foreign military officials about Beijing’s commitment to the air-encounters agreement, which both sides hailed as an important step in stabilizing military relations.
There had been several close air and sea encounters in the preceding years, which some U.S. officials feared could lead to a collision like one in 2001 over the South China Sea between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter. The Chinese jet crashed, killing the pilot; the damaged U.S. plane was forced to land on China’s Hainan Island.
There is also mounting concern among U.S. and Asian officials that China plans to establish an air-defense identification zone, or ADIZ, over the South China Sea, which would require all foreign aircraft to identify themselves to Chinese authorities.
China established an ADIZ over the East China Sea in 2013, prompting protests from the U.S. and several Asian countries. Washington responded by sending two B-52 bombers inside the zone without notifying Chinese authorities.
Secretary Kerry said on Sunday that the U.S. would regard establishing a similar zone over the South China Sea as “provocative and destabilizing.”After two days of talks in Beijing, Mr. Kerry said on Tuesday he had expressed concern about any unilateral steps to alter the status quo in the South China Sea.
China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, said after the talks that Beijing respected freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea but had a right to uphold its sovereign rights, and urged the U.S. not to take sides in territorial disputes in the area. China hasn’t announced plans to establish an ADIZ there, but has said repeatedly that it reserves the right to do so anywhere around its territory based on its assessment of aerial threats.
In the past two years Beijing has asserted its extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea—which are disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan—by building several artificial islands, including airstrips.
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