US deliberately misleads public opinion, China says

China’s Defense Ministry says the United States distorted facts following a recent confrontation between a Chinese military plane and an American air force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

In a statement released late on Saturday, Tian Julin, a ministry spokesperson, said the US Indo-Pacific Command had distorted facts about the incident and that it was the US aircraft that had engaged in “dangerous maneuvers” against the Chinese jet. Tian said the US aircraft was conducting intentional close-in reconnaissance on China’s southern coastline when the People’s Liberation Army sent fighter jets to track and monitor the plane.

Despite multiple warnings from the Chinese side, the US aircraft suddenly altered its flight stance in a “dangerous approach movement, which seriously compromised the flight safety of the Chinese military aircraft,” he said.

The ministry also released a video of the incident, which showed the US aircraft maneuvering towards the Chinese jet.

“The United States deliberately misleads public opinion … in an attempt to confuse the international audience,” Tian said.

“We solemnly request the US side to restrain the actions of frontline naval and air forces, strictly abide by related international laws and agreements, and prevent accidents in the sea and the air.”

The US military announced a Chinese jet came within 20 feet (6 meters) of an American aircraft and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision over the South China Sea last week. The Pentagon said on Thursday the close encounter followed what it called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military jets. It took place on December 21.

According to a Thursday press release from the command, which is responsible for overseeing US military operations in the region, the Chinese Navy J-11 fighter pilot “flew an unsafe maneuver by flying in front of and within 20 feet of the nose” of a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which forced the American aircraft to “take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.”

The United States regularly conducts what it claims to be “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea, challenging restrictions on naval passage imposed by China and other claimants.

Beijing has repeatedly said it does not impede freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and says the United States is deliberately provoking tensions there.

Washington routinely sends warships and warplanes to the South China Sea to assert what it terms its “right” to “freedom of navigation.” China's military often drives away US warships in the sea.

China claims the South China Sea in its entirety. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of the waters. The United States, however, sides with Beijing’s rival claimants in the dispute.

China has always warned the US against military activities in the sea. Beijing says potential close military encounters between the air and naval forces of the two countries in the region may cause accidents.

MG