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China responded to recent Pentagon complaints about nearly 200 dangerous aerial jet encounters by flying one of its fighters dangerously close to a U.S. B-52 bomber this week, American defense and military officials said Thursday.
The latest incident took place Tuesday over the South China Sea that China claims as its sovereign maritime territory and that the Pentagon insists is open international waters and airspace.
The disclosure on Thursday is the first time the military revealed a Chinese intercept of a B-52 bomber. The nuclear-capable bombers regularly conduct long-range missions in Asia as part of Pentagon efforts to push back against expansive Chinese claims to 90% of the South China Sea, claims rejected by an international tribunal in 2016.
Earlier risky intercepts took place against electronic warfare aircraft and maritime patrol aircraft, U.S. officials said.
Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, criticized the People’s Liberation Army for the action, calling it on social media “the latest example of a centralized, concerted campaign by the PLA to engage in coercive and risky operational behavior in international airspace.”
Last week, Mr. Ratner warned that the dangerous intercepts could produce accidents that “can lead to inadvertent conflict.”
On Wednesday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Sr. Col. Wu Qian said it was the United States who was guilty of “making provocations, taking risks and muddying the water” in the South China Sea. He released a video of two purported unsafe incidents involving American and Chinese warships making close passages.
“We all know that all the close encounters between Chinese and U.S. aircraft and warships were all in the waters and airspace around China, not in the Gulf of Mexico or on the west coast of America,” he said. “It was the U.S. side that came to China’s doorstep to provoke and stir up troubles. How is the Chinese military supposed to intercept the U.S. aircraft and warships if they don’t come? That is an impossible task for the U.S. to endanger China’s national security while making unfettered provocations.”
The Chinese military remains on high alert and will take needed steps to defend Chinese sovereignty, security and maritime rights, Col. Wu said.
According to the statement from the U.S. Indo-Pacific command on the latest nighttime encounter, a Chinese J-11 jet “executed an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Force B-52 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace.” The Chinese pilot maneuvered his aircraft “in an unsafe and unprofessional manner,” the statement said.
The military released an infrared video of the incident showing the Chinese jet flying very close to the bomber.
Additionally, the Chinese pilot showed poor airmanship by closing in on the bomber with “uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52,” the statement said.
The incident placed both aircraft in danger of a mid-air collision, U.S. commanders said.
“We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision,” the statement said.
The Chinese jet carried out the intercept at night with limited visibility and against international air safety rules. Military aircraft when conducting mid-air intercepts are required to conduct the missions professionally and with regard for the safety of other aircraft, the statement said.
The latest aerial encounter between U.S. and Chinese aircraft comes as the Pentagon last week disclosed new details of what officials say is a systematic effort by the Chinese military to attempt to coerce and intimidate air crews engaged in surveillance and other flights throughout the region.
The Indo-Pacific Command said the incident was the latest example of what the latest annual report on the Chinese military called “unsafe, unprofessional, and other behaviors that seek to impinge upon the ability of the United States and other nations to safely conduct operations where international law allows.”
The report said China had conducted more than 180 risky engagements since the fall of 2021.
Despite the Chinese military campaign, an Indo-Pacific Command spokesman declined to say whether the military will provide greater protection for the U.S. flights by dispatching fighter escorts.
Earlier this month, Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, briefed reporters on the Chinese intercept campaign and warned that the incidents could produce a larger military “miscalculation” between the two militaries.
Indo-Pacific Command said in the statement the United States will conduct to “fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international laws allow.”
“The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command joint force remains dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and we expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific to operate in international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” the statement said.
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