The defense ministry says the US distorted the facts after a clash between a Chinese plane and a US plane over the South China Sea.
Posted on January 1, 2023 January 1, 2023
China’s defense ministry has accused the United States of violating international law and “slander and hype” after a clash between a Chinese fighter jet and a US reconnaissance plane over disputed waters in the China Sea. Southern China.
The late Saturday statement came days after the US military said a Chinese J-11 fighter jet had come within 6 meters (20 feet) of a US RC-135 jet on December 21, which forced the latter to make evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.
But Tian Julin, a spokesman for China’s defense ministry, said the US Indo-Pacific Command had distorted the facts about the incident and that it was the US aircraft that had made “dangerous manoeuvres” against the chinese plane
Tian said the US plane was conducting a deliberate reconnaissance near China’s southern coast when the People’s Liberation Army sent fighter jets to track and control the plane.
Despite multiple warnings from the Chinese side, the US aircraft suddenly altered its flight position in a “dangerous approach movement, which seriously compromised the flight safety of the Chinese military aircraft,” it said .
The defense ministry also released a video of the incident, which it said showed the US aircraft maneuvering towards the Chinese jet.
“The United States is deliberately misleading public opinion … in an attempt to confuse the international audience,” Tian said.
“We solemnly call on the US side to curb the actions of front-line naval and air forces, strictly comply with related international laws and agreements, and prevent accidents at sea and in the air.”
China claims almost all of the South China Sea as sovereign territory, but parts of it are disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
Billions of dollars in trade flow each year through the waterway, which also contains rich fishing grounds and gas fields.
US military aircraft and ships routinely conduct surveillance operations and travel through the region, moves China says are not good for peace.
Relations between the United States and China have been strained, with friction rising between the world’s two largest economies over a range of issues, including Beijing’s human rights record and its claims over the self-governing island from Taiwan.
