Seoul, Korea
CNN
–
The Chinese fighter planes came within about 150 feet of the Japanese Navy reconnaissance plane over the weekend, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said Thursday that the US ambassador for Tokyo called “dangerous” and “reckless.”
According to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Defense, there was a close encounter between Japan’s P-3C Orion on Saturday morning, a Class 4 turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft and a J-15 jet fighter jet launched by the J-15 jet fighter jet on Saturday morning, and a J-15 jet fighter jet launched from Shanghai, a Chinese aircraft.
The encounter lasted about 40 minutes as the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) forces were on surveillance missions. The Chinese jets came within 45 meters “horizontally” of the Japanese plane, the ministry said.
Another close encounter between Chinese fighters and Japanese planes occurred on Sunday, when the Chinese fighters passed directly about 900 meters (2,950 feet) in front of the P-3C flight path, the ministry statement said.
“This unusual approach with Chinese military aircraft can lead to accidental conflicts.”
US Ambassador George Glass has been slowed down by his criticism.
“The recent dangerous operations of Chinese fighters that put the lives of Japanese crews at risk,” Glass said in a post in X, sarcastically calling the incident “another of the efforts of Beijing’s ‘good neighbors’.
“Whether it’s harassing Filipino ships, attacking Vietnamese fishermen or burning up on Australian aircraft, Beijing only knows reckless attacks,” Glass said.
Over the past few years, China has been criticized for all its actions in the South China Sea and other parts of the Indo-Pacific.
At a Defense Forum in Singapore last month, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses said China has shown a pattern of threatening and trying to intimidate its neighbors.
“We’ve all seen videos and photos of sea cannons and ship-to-ship collisions, illegal boarding at sea, and we’re also seeing illegal seizures and militarization of land in the South China Sea,” he said in the Shangri-La Dialogue.
“These actions reveal a lack of respect for our neighbors and challenge sovereignty, freedom of voyage and excessive flight,” he said.
China and Japan’s encounter occurred in international waters in the Pacific Ocean as Beijing sent two aircraft carrier groups to the region for training exercises.
According to a military statement, Chinese airlines and their escorts were practicing far-sea defense and joint operations.
“This is a routine arrangement included in the annual training plan and aims to improve the PLA Navy’s ability to carry out missions in China. The training is in compliance with relevant international law and practice and is not targeted at any particular country or organization.”