US Releases Footage Of Over 180 Chinese Intercepts Of US Fighter Jets In Two Years

The United States has disclosed footage showing more than 180 instances of Chinese intercepts of US fighter jets over the western Pacific in the past two years.

This number surpasses the total count reported over the preceding decade. These revelations come in advance of the annual China Military Power Report from the Pentagon, which is due to be released shortly.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner presented the details at the Pentagon, highlighting a noticeable increase in coercive and risky operational behavior by China’s People’s Liberation Army in the East and South China seas.

This uptick primarily concerns airborne interactions between the Chinese military and the US Air Force.

Ratner cited an incident from January 2023 when a Chinese fighter jet rapidly approached a US aircraft flying in international airspace over the South China Sea. The Chinese jet came within 30 feet (9 meters) of the US plane, and this tense interaction persisted for over 15 minutes.

This episode followed a situation in which the US Indo-Pacific Command accused a Chinese fighter jet of executing an “unsafe” maneuver while intercepting a US Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane over the fiercely disputed South China Sea.

While US officials stopped short of categorizing most of these flights as unsafe, they underscored that they are indicative of a broader trend of regional intimidation by China. Such actions have the potential to inadvertently lead to conflict. Ratner emphasized, “The bottom line is that in many cases, this type of operational behavior can cause active and dangerous accidents.”

The US release coincided with Canada’s report that a Chinese fighter jet came within 5 meters (16 feet) of a Canadian military plane over international waters near North Korea. Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair characterized these actions as “dangerous and reckless.”

In response, China accused Canada of an “illegal intrusion into the airspace of Chiwei Yu, an affiliated island of China’s Diaoyu Dao,” referring to disputed islands controlled by Japan, known as the Senkaku Islands.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “The Canadian side should respect the facts and stop spreading disinformation.”

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The United States has been striving to maintain readiness for a potential conflict with China concerning Taiwan while also supporting Ukraine and Israel. Admiral John Acquilino, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, asserted that the command still had the necessary equipment and forces to deter China effectively.

“We have been taking a number of steps to strengthen our commitment to the region, strengthen our deterrence in the region, and we will continue to do that,” he stated, referring to the allocation of ships, aircraft, and military units within the command.