Chinese jets conduct unsafe intercept: US
Policy unchanged under Trump
WASHINGTON, May 27, (Agencies): Two Chinese aircraft conducted an unprofessional intercept of a US Navy surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, marking the second time in about a week that the US has complained about unsafe Chinese operations in the region.
A defense official said one of the Chinese J-10 fighter jets flew about 200 yards in front of the US P-3 aircraft and about 100 feet above it, doing slow turns. The second Chinese fighter remained about 750 yards off the P-3’s right wing. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Navy Cdr Gary Ross said the Navy P-3 Orion was operating in international airspace. He said the US is reviewing the incident and will convey concerns to the Chinese.
Last week, US defense officials said two Chinese SU-30 jets conducted an unprofessional intercept of an American radiation-sniffing surveillance plane in the East China Sea. Pacific Air Forces spokeswoman Lt Col Lori Hodge said at the time that the Chinese aircraft approached a WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft — a modified Boeing C-135 — conducting a routine mission in international airspace in accordance with international law.
The WC-135 crew characterized the intercept as unprofessional “due to the maneuvers by the Chinese pilot, as well as the speeds and proximity of both aircraft,” Hodge said.
China denied US accusations about last week’s intercept, saying its aircraft conducted a safe and professional operation.
Surveillance
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the American plane was conducting surveillance over the Yellow Sea — the northern part of the East China Sea — and that the Chinese jets moved to identify and verify the plane “in accordance with laws and regulations.”
In a separate incident this week, China protested a US Navy patrol that sent a guided missile destroyer near a group of man-made islands in the South China Sea, in the first American challenge to Beijing’s claims to the waters since President Donald Trump took office.
China’s Defense Ministry told reporters that it had sought an explanation with US officials over the Thursday incident, which Beijing said involved the USS Dewey and took place around Mischief Reef, one of a chain of artificial islands China has built and fortified to assert its claims over the strategic waterway.
China is deeply suspicious of any US military activity around its coastline, especially in the resource-rich South China Sea, parts of which are disputed by China and its smaller neighbors, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Incidents such as Wednesday’s interception are not uncommon.
Earlier this month, two Chinese SU-30 aircraft intercepted a US aircraft designed to detect radiation while it was flying in international airspace over the East China Sea.
Meanwhile, Washington’s policy on the South China Sea has not changed under President Donald Trump, a senior US State Department official said on Friday.
Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton also said there were no indications China had gone cold on further potential sanctions against North Korea.
A US navy warship conducted a so-called freedom of navigation drill near Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands on Thursday, the first such manoeuvre under the Trump administration, prompting an angry response from Beijing.
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HANOI: The US transferred its seventh security vessel this week to Vietnam, the embassy said Friday, boosting defence ties amid a spike in tensions in the South China Sea.
The US coast guard gave its Vietnamese counterpart a high endurance cutter in a ceremony in Honolulu on Thursday, the embassy in Hanoi said.
The gift comes several days after the US delivered six patrol boats to Vietnam’s coast guard to strengthen its “maritime law enforcement” and humanitarian response operations.
“This cutter provides a concrete and significant symbol of the US-Vietnamese comprehensive partnership,” US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock was quoted as saying during the handover in Hawaii.
The security boost comes as the US ratcheted up tensions in the South China Sea this week by sailing a warship close to a reef claimed by Beijing.
The move, the “first freedom of navigation” exercise under US President Donald Trump, sparked ire from China, who claims nearly all of the sea.
Taiwan, Vietnam and several other Southeast Asian nations also claim parts of waterway, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.
But Hanoi has found itself increasingly alone in challenging China’s island building campaign, especially as the Philippines warms up to the regional superpower.
President Trump’s rise to the White House has also cast uncertainty over American foreign policy in the region.
Yet Trump has already extended a coveted White House invitation to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, with the meeting slated for next week.
Security and trade ties between the former wartime foes have deepened since Washington restored diplomatic relations with Hanoi in 1995.