Pentagon cites more than 180 incidents of aggression against US aircraft over the East and South China seas

The US has accused China of orchestrating a “concerted” campaign of dangerous and provocative air force manoeuvres against US military planes in international airspace, warning it could spark an inadvertent conflict between them.

The Pentagon said aggressive tactics by Chinese aircraft had threatened US planes flying over the East and South China Sea regions, tallying more than 180 such incidents since autumn 2021.

“That’s nearly 200 cases where (Chinese) operators have … discharged chaff or shot off flares or approached too rapidly or close to US aircraft,” said Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs.

    • @Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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      11 year ago

      The recent Canadian fighter was not in international waters. He was in disputed water between China and Japan. Regardless of who you support in that territorial conflict, the Japanese who occupied the islands from 1895 until 1945, or the Chinese who occupied it from ~1400 until 1895, and then again in 1945, when the US administered the (Chinese populated) islands, until 1972 when the US gave the islands to Japan. Either way, it’s not international waters.