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World News See other World News Articles Title: Chinese Pilots Sent a Message. American Allies Said They Went Too Far. Chinese Pilots Sent a Message. American Allies Said They Went Too Far. Austin Ramzy - 9 June 2022 HONG KONG — Chinese jets repeatedly buzzed a Canadian plane monitoring North Korea, sometimes coming so close that the pilots could see each other. Hundreds of miles to the south, a Chinese fighter plane sprayed metallic chaff in the path of an Australian surveillance craft, a maneuver that Australia called “very dangerous.” © Taiwan Ministry of Defense, via Associated Press © Russian Defence Ministry, via Reuters To Chinese officials, these were reasonable responses to foreign military patrols that threatened China’s security. To the American allies, the Chinese pilots’ actions in recent weeks were worrying escalations, risking a midair collision or crash. Such a mishap could trigger a broader conflict. “There are split-second differences between this being a passing headline and this being a major incident with enduring international ramifications,” said John Blaxland, a professor of security and intelligence studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. The provocations in the Asia Pacific, and the rhetoric surrounding them, add to the growing tensions as China faces off against the United States and its allies. In recent years, China has been increasingly assertive in the region, from building military infrastructure in the disputed South China Sea to sending ships and aircraft near islands claimed by both Japan and China. Last month, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken called China the biggest challenger to the international order and said the United States would work with allies to curb its aggressive actions. Beijing has denounced such efforts as attempts to thwart China’s rightful rise, saying it wouldn’t be constrained by American bullying. Last month, as President Biden visited the region, China and Russia sent bombers over the seas of northeast Asia in their first coordinated exercise since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Chinese military aircraft regularly hold drills near Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own. © Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Russian attack on Ukraine has heightened concerns that China could similarly try to take Taiwan, potentially drawing the United States into a direct conflict over the island, which Mr. Biden last month promised to defend. But the recent aerial encounters are a reminder of a more immediate potential flash point: a pilot’s misjudgment of a close encounter, which could trigger a deadly crash and an international incident. It has happened before, as when a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. Navy surveillance plane over the South China Sea in 2001. The Chinese pilot was killed, and the American EP-3E Aries II was forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan Island. China held the American crew for 11 days. It allowed their release only after extensive negotiations and the release of a letter saying the United States was “very sorry” for the pilot’s death. The incident has become a rallying point in China. The pilot, Wang Wei, was posthumously given the title “Guardian of Territorial Airspace and Waters,” and the date of his death, April 1, is still commemorated in extensive official propaganda. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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