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Chinese military refutes US military slander of airborne encounter


BEIJING, January 1 – The Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command issued a written statement on Saturday evening to refute the recent slander by the US military, saying that the United States deliberately misled public opinion, distorted facts, blamed innocent and attempted to deceive the international community.

The US Indo-Pacific Command recently said in a statement that a PLAN J-11 fighter jet performed a so-called “dangerous maneuver” against a USAF RC-135 aircraft. Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for China’s PLA Southern Theater Command, said in a statement in response to the media that the US military’s statement ignores the facts and is nothing more than slander and speculation.

The spokesman stressed that on December 21, a US RC-135 aircraft conducted an intentional close reconnaissance in the vicinity of the southern coast of China and the Xisha Islands of Hainan province. The PLA Southern Theater Command deployed air assets to track and monitor US aircraft throughout the process. In the process, ignoring the Chinese pilot’s repeated warnings, the US aircraft abruptly changed its flight attitude and forced the Chinese aircraft to swerve to the left. Such a dangerous approach maneuver seriously affected the flight safety of the Chinese military aircraft, seriously violating the US-China Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the rules of conduct for the safety of air and sea encounters and related laws and practices international.

The spokesman pointed out that the Chinese pilot handled the incident in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and conducted professional and standard operations, which fully demonstrated the Chinese military’s responsible attitude towards regional security and the safety of the frontline staff.

“We strongly request the US side to limit the operations of its frontline air and naval troops, strictly abide by relevant international laws and agreements, and prevent any accidental events at sea and in the air,” the spokesman said at the end of the statement, adding that the Chinese military will always stand alert and steadfastly carry out its duties and missions to safeguard China’s sovereignty and security.

This video released by the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command shows the US RC-135 aircraft abruptly changed its flight attitude and performed a dangerous approach maneuver at 11:25:17 (Beijing time) on the 21st December 2022.


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