China says it followed rules in US aircraft intercept incident

From InterAksyon (May 26): China says it followed rules in US aircraft intercept incident



File photo of a Chinese J-11 fighter jet seen flying near a US Navy P-8 Poseidon about 215 km (135 miles) east of China's Hainan Island in this US Department of Defense handout photo taken August 19, 2014. REUTERS/US Navy/Handout

China's Defense Ministry said on Thursday its aircraft followed the rules after two Chinese fighter jets carried out what the United States said was an "unsafe" intercept of a US military reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

The incident took place in international airspace last week as the plane carried out "a routine US patrol", the Pentagon said.

A US defense official said two Chinese J-11 fighter jets flew within 50 feet (15 meters) of the US EP-3 aircraft. The official said the incident took place east of Hainan island.

[Read related story: 2 Chinese jets conduct 'unsafe' intercept of US spy plane over South China Sea: Pentagon]

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a monthly news briefing China's aircraft acted completely professionally and in line with an agreement reached between the countries on rules governing such encounters.

However, he said the agreement, called the Rules of Behaviour for Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters, could only provide a "technical standard", and the best way of resolving the problem was for the US to stop such flights.

[Read related story: SOUTH CHINA SEA | China demands end to US surveillance after spy plane intercept]

"That's the real source of danger for Sino-US military safety at sea and in the air," he said.

The encounter came shortly after China scrambled fighter jets as a US Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

Another Chinese intercept took place in 2014 when a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around a US spy plane.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.

Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands, while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased US naval patrols and exercises in Asia.

http://interaksyon.com/article/128285/china-says-it-followed-rules-in-us-aircraft-intercept-incident