“No approaching any more or you will pay full responsibility,” China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force told the U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon aircraft a few hours after it flew over the South China Sea last Friday, February 24.
Then, a Chinese J-11 fighter jet then appeared 500 feet near the left wing of the US patrol aircraft.
This incident was caught on tape and was reported by a U.S. TV station, NBC News, whose crew was on board the said mission from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.
“An intercept on the wing is a typical Friday for us,” Commander Marc Hines of the U.S. Naval Air Force Atlantic told NBC, adding that China has become more aggressive in its stance.
“Since I’ve been in the Navy, going on 18, 19 years now, I can tell you there is a dramatic change over that span, specifically the South China Sea,” he said.
According to NBC, the patrol flew over the international airspace between Taiwan and the Philippines, considered as “friendly territories” of known allies of the US.
Last Tuesday, February 21, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also received challenge calls from the China Coast Guard (CCG) as they conducted maritime domain awareness patrol over Sabina and Ayungin Shoals.
The CCG returned the challenge calls to the CCG and suspected Chinese Maritime Militia currently stationed in the area.
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