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.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    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.

    US-China relations are at their lowest point in years, with tension over a range of issues including trade, human rights, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

    On Tuesday Beijing hit back, accusing the plane of having “illegally intruded into the airspace” of Chiwei island, which lies in the Japan-administered Senkakus claimed by China.

    “The Canadian military aircraft travelled thousands of miles to make trouble and provocation at China’s doorstep,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.


    The original article contains 458 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • muntedcrocodile@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If the CCP do this enough they might just get what they asked for. That being bejing getting turned into a carpark.

  • peg@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Imagine the outcry of the Chinese airforce flew around in the Caribbean?

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If they were in international waters?

      The issue here is that China has claimed an absurd amount of the South China Sea as their territory, which flouts international norms. For perspective, their claim is to an extent equivalent to if the US claimed the entire Gulf of Mexico was US waters.

      If this is where it’s happening, then China is absolutely in the wrong.

      • Bartsbigbugbag
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        1 year ago

        That’s not at all what the disputed area in question is. The dispute is over an island that Japan occupied from 1898-1945, which was then in US care while still inhabited by Chinese citizens, and eventually the US gave it to japan in the 70s. This isn’t the same as the dispute China has with Vietnam and the others in the area. This specific incident was not in that area, and though I’m sure at least some of the 180 intrusions we’ve made into Chinese airspace were in that territory, we’ve seen nothing to suggest such from this article.

  • Bartsbigbugbag
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    1 year ago

    We’ve invaded their territory 180 times with military jets, and it’s China who is being aggressive…

      • zerfuffle
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        1 year ago

        Disputed waters are disputed between the two countries, not typically recognized as international.

      • Bartsbigbugbag
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        1 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.

        • sartalon@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Certainly no place to act like the raging douchebag that China is being, for sure.

          • Bartsbigbugbag
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, preventing foreign military vehicles from entering your airspace is totally being a raging douchebag, but flying your military vehicles thousands of miles from home for the sole purpose of force projection and intimidation isn’t. Totally logical thought process.

            I imagine you’d be okay with the Chinese doing the same thing to the US and Canada then, right?

              • Bartsbigbugbag
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                1 year ago

                Cool I’ll tell the Chinese it’s alright to fly Fighter jets through the Beaufort Sea then, since that territory is disputed between the US and Canada.

            • sartalon@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I feel like I have to shout because either you are being deliberately obtuse or you are just stupid.

              IT IS NOT THEIR AIRSPACE!

              JUST SAYING IT NOW BELONGS TO THEM IS NOT HOW THIS SHIT WORKS!

                • sartalon@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  This is such a stupid argument.

                  The whole point of force projection is to show them they can’t just get away with the shit they are trying to pull!!

                  We are there because we are allies with the folks they are trying to bully.

                  The whole point of having large allied groups is to prevent the shit China is trying to pull.

                  I wish you were a tree because then you could still be this stupid but still have some positive benefit to the globe.

                  You’re probably just a troll anyway.

    • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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      1 year ago

      china can’t just claim massive amounts of airspace over the ocean. Well, they can, but nobody will respect this (sky is green arguement).

      So china is just mad nobody respects china. Fuck china. Fuck xi. Fuck china apologists.