US says Chinese intercept could have caused air collision

The US military says a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to an Air Force plane over the South China Sea forcing the American pilot to maneuver to avoid a collisionUS IndoPacific Command said in a statement on Thursday that the incident occurred December 21 when the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy J11 flew in front of and within 6 metres 20 feet of the nose of an RC135 a type of large reconnaissance plane operated by the US Air ForceThe US plane was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace the statement said Its pilot was forced to iquesttake evasive maneuvers to avoid a collisionAlso read Attack kills 10 in Syria Kurdish forces arrest 52 militantsChina frequently challenges military aircraft from the US and its allies especially over the strategically vital South China Sea which China claims in its entiretySuch behavior led to a 2001 inair collision in which a Chinese plane was lost and pilot killedThe US IndoPacific Joint Force is dedicated to a free and open IndoPacific region and will continue to fly sail and operate at sea and in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law the statement saidWe expect all countries in the IndoPacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law it saidChina deeply resents the presence of US military assets in the South China Sea and regularly demands its ships and planes leave the areaThe US says it is fully entitled to operate in and over the South China Sea and ignores the Chinese demandsSuch dangerous incidents persist despite USChina agreements on how to deal with unexpected encountersThe US and others have also accused China of harassing military aircraft and ships in the East China Sea off the Chinese coast and as far away as the Horn of Africa where China operates a naval baseThere was no immediate response to the latest US complaint from the PLA the military wing of Chinas ruling Communist PartyChinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin offered no details but accused the US of posing iquestserious threats to Chinas national security with its surveillance operationsChina will continue to take necessary measures to firmly defend its sovereignty and security and work with regional countries to firmly defend the peace and stability of the South China Sea Wang said at a daily briefing on FridayWang also renewed Beijings objections to US arms sales to Taiwan the selfgoverning island democracy that Beijing threatens to bring under its control by force if necessary Washington this week approved the sale of a USD 180 million antitank system to Taiwan as the threat from Chinas military risesThough the US has no formal ties with Taiwan in deference to Beijing it is required by US law to ensure the island has the means to defend itselfWhile Beijing has given Taiwan no deadline to accept its ultimatum some US defence officials believe Chinese leader Xi Jinping has become more eager to force a military solution in the coming yearsThe US should stop arms sales and military contact with Taiwan and stop creating new factors that could lead to tensions in the Taiwan Strait Wang saidChina will take strong measures to firmly defend its sovereignty and security interests he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever