China, U.S. release dueling videos with accusations of provocation
Bloomberg News
The U.S. and China each released video footage that accused the other of provocative or unprofessional actions by military craft in and around the South China Sea, escalating the rhetoric by both countries in the disputed body of water.
The Chinese clip said that on Aug. 19, the USS Ralph Johnson “conducted close-in harassment” against a Chinese navy task group doing routine training in the South China Sea. It accused the American destroyer of “several provocative actions such as making a sharp turn and sudden acceleration or deceleration,” and coming within 670 meters, or roughly 730 yards.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a regular press briefing Thursday that the video “shows that the U.S. side is the real provoker, risk-taker and disrupter.” The U.S. warship’s actions “endanger China’s national security,” Wu said, adding that his nation would “take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty.”
The U.S. Pacific Fleet didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of working hours. But hours later, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command released video footage that it said showed a Chinese J-11 fighter executing an “unsafe intercept” of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber, which was “lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace.” It said the Oct. 24 intercept was done at night and put both craft in danger of collision.
The 38-second clip shows the Chinese plane approach the B-52 from behind and fly past it from a close distance before veering away.
The U.S. has been increasingly open about posting such footage, though it’s rare for the Chinese military to release video of encounters with the U.S. military. The Chinese move comes after the Pentagon said last week that China’s warplanes have sharply increased “coercive and risky” behavior in the South China Sea.
The dueling descriptions of the separate events occurred as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a visit to Washington. He was meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday to discuss easing of tensions and preparing for a possible formal meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco next month.
Wang was expected to meet National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday and greet Biden as well.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, and bristles at military activity conducted by the U.S. and its partners in the region. Earlier this month, a Canadian general criticized the Chinese air force over an episode off the coast of the Asian nation that apparently saw a fighter cut off a patrol plane and drop flares in its path.
By releasing the video of the warship encounters, China appears to be trying to show that it is behaving responsibly in the region while the troublemaker is the U.S., though Washington insists its military activities are conducted in international airspace and waters. The video also said the U.S. maneuvers violated agreements between the two nations on the behavior of ship captains at sea.
The U.S. military also recently published images and videos highlighting the behavior of Chinese fighter pilots toward their American counterparts in international airspace. The incidents above the East and South China Seas show People’s Liberation Army pilots coming within some 20 feet of U.S. aircraft, in some instances cutting in front of them.
The Philippines has also been stepping up efforts to show what it said were “aggressive” acts by Chinese ships in the South China Sea. It has released several videos and images of at least eight incidents involving Chinese vessels so far this year, often via social media.
On Wednesday, Biden warned China that the U.S. would be forced to intervene if Beijing attacked Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. A China Coast Guard vessel collided with a Philippines-contracted resupply boat on Sunday, and a Chinese maritime militia boat ran into a Philippine coast guard ship hours later.
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(With assistance from Jing Li)